Chubu 2016 中部の旅 - Shibata Station 新発田駅

Shibata Station 新発田駅 is a train station along Uetsu main line 羽越本線 and Hakushin line 白新線. Shibata city once prospered as castle town during the Edo period (1603 - 1868) and Shibata Castle 新発田城 is the main historical symbol of the city today. Another pride of Shibata city is Tsukioka Onsen 月岡温泉, a hot spring district located 6 km south of the main city center. Even though the nearest train station to Tsukioka Onsen is Tsukioka Station 月岡駅 (an unmanned station situated about 3.5 km away from the hot spring district), regular shuttle bus service operates between Tsukioka Onsen and Toyosaka Station 豊栄駅 instead. For our trip, we arrived at Shibata Station in the afternoon and visited Shimizu-en 清水園. After that, we headed for Tsukioka Onsen, where we stayed in one of the ryokan overnight.

Trains serving this train station include:
(1) Limited Express Inaho いなほ, commutes between Niigata 新潟駅 to Akita 秋田駅 via Hakushin line 白新線 and Uetsu main line 羽越本線. Train stations served by this train include Niigata 新潟駅, Toyosaka 豊栄駅, Shibata 新発田駅, Murakami 村上駅, Atsumi Onsen あつみ温泉駅, Tsuruoka 鶴岡駅, Sakata 酒田駅, Ugo Honjo 羽後本荘駅, Akita 秋田駅, etc.

(2) Kairi 海里, a special themed train introduced by JR East in Oct 2019, which commutes between Niigata and Sakata (in Yamagata Prefecture), via Hakushin line 白新線 and Uetsu main line 羽越本線. Train stations served by this train include Niigata 新潟駅, Shibata 新発田駅, Murakami 村上駅, Atsumi Onsen あつみ温泉駅, Tsuruoka 鶴岡駅, Sakata 酒田駅, etc.
Website: https://www.jreast.co.jp/railway/joyful/kairi.html



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What's nearby?

(1) Bus stop, in front of the train station.

Shibata city Loop Bus - Ayame Bus あやめバス covers two routes and it costs 100 yen per ride. 

(a) Outer loop (clockwise direction) or Issunboshi-go いっすんぼうし号.

(b) Inner loop (anti clockwise direction) or Oyayubihime-go おやゆびひめ号. Though both buses go to Shibata Castle Site 新発田城跡 from the train station, take the inner loop bus / Oyayubihime-go to cut down on travelling time. 

http://www.city.shibata.lg.jp/kurashi/kotsu/bus/ayame/1001436.html

(2) Shibata City Tourist Information Center 新発田市観光情報センター, about 2 minutes walk from train station.
Operating hours: 0900 - 1800 hrs

(3) Ichishima Shuzo 市島酒造, about 5 minutes walk from the train station.
〒957-0055 新潟県新発田市諏訪町3丁目1-17
Sake brewery tour: 0900 - 1600 hrs
Founded in 1790, Ichishima Shuzo / Sake Brewery was the first brewery in Japan that allowed females to take Shuzoginoshi 酒造技能士 (Sake Brewer) examination. The first female brewer to be certified a first class during the examination was also from Ichishima Shuzo as well. The brewery welcomes visitors to attend their sake brewery guided tour, which is free-of-charge and held daily in its facilities. The guided tour takes about 20 minutes and does not require prior reservation to be made. 

https://www.ichishima.jp/



(4) Shimizu-en 清水園, about 7 minutes walk from the train station.

(5) Shibata Castle 新発田城, about 25 minutes walk from the train station.
Operating hours: 0900 - 1700 hrs (Apr - Oct); 0900 - 1630 hrs (Nov)

https://shibata-info.jp/archives/sightseeing/%E6%96%B0%E7%99%BA%E7%94%B0%E5%9F%8E%EF%BC%88%E5%9B%BD%E6%8C%87%E5%AE%9A%E9%87%8D%E8%A6%81%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96%E8%B2%A1%EF%BC%89

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Commemorative stamp:

Chubu 2016 中部の旅 - Murakami Station 村上駅

Murakami Station 村上駅 is a train station along Uetsu main line 羽越本線. Uetsu main line runs alongside the Sea of Japan coastline and spans across three prefectures (Niigata, Yamagata and Akita), connecting Niitsu 新津駅 in Niigata Prefecture to Akita 秋田駅 in Akita Prefecture. Once prospered as a castle town, some of the remaining samurai residences and machiya (traditional wooden houses) can still be seen around Ogunimachi 小国町 and Omachi 大町. Murakami is also famous for salmon (called iyoboya イヨボヤ here) and beef (cows bred in Murakami city 村上市, Tainai city 胎内市 and Sekikawa mura 関川村, and meat graded A4 and B4 and above are branded as Murakami-gyu 村上牛). Senami Onsen 瀬波温泉, a hot spring spot discovered in 1904 when people were searching for kerosene in the area, is about 10 minutes bus ride away from the train station. Located near Sea of Japan coastline, Senami Onsen is well known for its abundance of hot spring water and mesmerising sunset scenery.







Trains serving this train station include:
(1) Limited Express Inaho いなほ, commutes between Niigata 新潟駅 to Akita 秋田駅 via Hakushin line 白新線 and Uetsu main line 羽越本線. Train stations served by this train include Niigata 新潟駅, Toyosaka 豊栄駅, Shibata 新発田駅, Murakami 村上駅, Atsumi Onsen あつみ温泉駅, Tsuruoka 鶴岡駅, Sakata 酒田駅, Ugo Honjo 羽後本荘駅, Akita 秋田駅, etc.

(2) Kairi 海里, a special themed train introduced by JR East in Oct 2019, which commutes between Niigata and Sakata (in Yamagata Prefecture), via Hakushin line 白新線 and Uetsu main line 羽越本線. Train stations served by this train include Niigata 新潟駅, Shibata 新発田駅, Murakami 村上駅, Atsumi Onsen あつみ温泉駅, Tsuruoka 鶴岡駅, Sakata 酒田駅, etc
Website: https://www.jreast.co.jp/railway/joyful/kairi.html

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What's nearby?

(1) Bus stop, in front of the train station.
Bus services:
(a) Machinaka Loop Bus "Abessha" まちなか循環バス あべっ車 has two routes, the big loop (anticlockwise direction) and small loop (clockwise direction). Do take note that both bus routes are only in operation from Monday to Saturday, and it cost 100 yen per ride.
- Big loop 大回り: Route covers places such as Shin-machi 新町 and Iyoboya Kaikan イヨボヤ会館. The bus makes five round trips on its day of operation.
- Small loop 小回り: Route covers places such as Shiyakusho (City/Municipal Hall) 市役所 and Minami-machi 南町. The bus makes 10 round trips on its day of operation.
(b) Senami Round Bus せなみ巡回バス makes a round trip from Murakami Station to Senami Onsen 瀬波温泉. Similar to Machinaka Loop Bus, this bus also operates from Monday to Saturday and it cost 100 yen per ride.
http://www.city.murakami.lg.jp/soshiki/13/machinaka-bus.html



(2) Tourist information center 観光案内所, located on the left after exiting from the train station.
Operating hours: 0900 - 1700 hrs



(3) Iyoboya Kaikan イヨボヤ会館, about 20 minutes walk from the train station.

(4) Murakami Castle Site 村上城跡, about 25 minutes walk from the train station.
https://www.city.murakami.lg.jp/site/kanko/oshiroyama.html

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Commemorative stamps:

Chubu Nagano & Niigata 中部 長野、新潟 - Day 8 Murakami 村上, Shibata 新発田, Tsukioka Onsen 月岡温泉

Day 8: 23.10.2016 (Sun)
* Day 4 / 5 JR East Pass usage

Breakfast: Toyoko Inn Niigata Ekimae 東横イン新潟駅前

Niigata JR 新潟駅 (0827 hrs) > Murakami JR 村上駅 (0914 hrs)
by Ltd Express Inaho いなほ 1.

Visited Iyoboya イヨボヤ. [600 yen]

http://www.iyoboya.jp/

Visited Machiya 町屋 - Mishou Kikkawa 味匠きっかわ

http://www.murakamisake.com/

Lunch: Bishokuya Yamashi 美食屋やま信

http://www.bishokuya.com/diner/

Murakami JR 村上駅 (1319 hrs) > Shibata JR 新発田駅 (1353 hrs)
by local train, via JR Uetsu main line.

Visited Shimizu-en 清水園. [700 yen]
http://hoppou-bunka.com/shimizuen/

Shibata Ekimae 新発田駅前 > Ryokan Imai いま井
by free shuttle service provided by Ryokan Imai.

Checked in: Ryokan Imai いま井

http://ky-imai.com/

Visited Teyu no mori 手湯の杜, Ashiyu Yutabi 足湯湯足美.

Dinner: Ryokan Imai いま井

- End of Day 8 -