Niigata in One Day: Shibata Castle & Niigata East Port — Guide Kayoko

What Is a Private Cruise-Port Day Tour of Shibata and Niigata Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a group visiting from Oceania. Since rain was forecast from the afternoon, I wanted to finish any outdoor activities early. However, the sake brewery tour time could not be changed, so we just managed to complete a visit to Shibata Castle in the morning. We had planned to go to "Shimizuen Garden," but I had forgotten that its regular closing day would change to Tuesdays starting in September, so we changed our destination and stopped by the "Shirakabe Heisha Public Relations Museum" at the Ground Self-Defense Force Shibata Garrison. If we had gone to Shimizuen, the rain would have made the footing bad, so this turned out to be just right.

At the Shirakabe Heisha Public Relations Museum, actual guns and bombs used in war were on display, which was very surprising. The conversation also developed into topics such as the relationship between Oceania and Japan during World War II.

After that, while we were having lunch, the rain gradually became heavier, and the guests' spirits began to drop. Since there was an opinion that they wanted to do ordinary shopping rather than sightseeing, we stopped at a supermarket that had a 100-yen shop inside. They bought a lot of things to eat and drink aboard the cruise ship.

Finally, I insisted that I really wanted to take them there, and we went to a vineyard in Seiro Town. Oceania has a leading red wine producing region, so at first they were reluctant, saying, "We come from a grape town, so there's no need to go out of our way to visit a vineyard." But once I took them there, the style of grape cultivation was completely different from what they knew, so they got excited like children and took tons of photos. Indeed, the sight of many large clusters of grapes hanging from the trellises was spectacular. They said it was the first time they had eaten Japanese table grapes. They seemed disappointed that fresh items could not be brought aboard the cruise ship.

Compared to a year ago, Niigata East Port seemed to have settled down considerably in terms of its reception arrangements.

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Tour Report by KAYOKO

Hello. I’m Kayoko. I’m registered as a National Licensed Guide Interpreter by Tokyo Metropolitan City Government.
I had been living in Yamagata City, 400 kilometers north up to Tokyo for 1 and 3 months, and now just have come back to Tokyo. I really enjoyed living in Yamagata.
My hobby is horse riding and playing some musical instruments such as piano, clarinet, euphonium and tuba.
Thanks to my riding experience, I had a special opportunity to do volunteer works at 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in the equestrian venue in Tokyo.
I am also a certified kimono instructor and can help you dress in the traditional Japanese kimono.
I’m really looking forward to meeting you.