This is the first photo under the new theme "Sadogashima and Japan Sea Coast."

View from the Sekigawa (関川) riverside in Nao'etsu (直江津), Jou'etsu (上越) city, Niigata (新潟) prefecture. Its skyline is dominated by the volcanos of Iizuna-yama, Kurohime-yama, Myoukou-san, and Yake-yama, which are located on or near the border between Nagano and Niigata prefectures. They are also seen from Happoone in Hakuba on the opposite side across the mountain range.

Nao'etsu is a port town that has a boat service to the Sadogashima (佐渡島) island 70 km to the north in the Sea of Japan.

Tags:   townscape river mountain Japan Niigata Joetsu Naoetu 上越市 新潟県 volcano bridge Nigata 直江津

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This is where the Sekigawa river discharges into the Sea of Japan.

White tanks in the setting sunlight are for the storage of aluminium hydroxide that is transported from Australia.
Nao'etsu port is just behind the tanks.

Tags:   Japan Niigata Joetsu Naoetsu 新潟県 上越市 直江津 river townscape industrial landscape Nigata Sea of Japan 日本海

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As you see in the photo, Tarai-bune is like a big traditional washtub (Tarai) made of cedar boards combined with bamboo hoop.
It may look like the basket boat in Vietnam and the coracle in Wales, but is more similar to the barrel in terms of structure.

It is customary to row with one oar.
Traditionally, it was used by Ama (海女), female divers catching seafoods.

Tags:   port tourist boat 佐渡市 新潟県 Japan Niigata Sado people Nigata

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Sadogashima or the Sado island is characterised by rocky coastlines. It is a treasure island of seascapes.
Shukunegi (宿根木) is a community near the Ogi port in the southernmost part of the island.
Shukunegi used to be an important port for Kitamae-bune (北前船) that was a sea transport route between Osaka and the coastal cities along the Sea of Japan.

Tarai-bune or the washtub boat was invented in Sado to catch abalones and other mollusks in shallow and narrow coves although it is mostly a tourist attractions these days.

This type of boat appears in Hayao Miyazaki's animation movie "Spirited Away" at around 01:36:20.

Tags:   Japan Niigata Sado boat landscape sea rock tourist sky 新潟県 佐渡市 Nigata 日本海 Sea of Japan

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Shukunegi (宿根木) is a community that used to thrive with ship-building for, and the trade using, the Kitamae-bune (北前船) sea transport route.
Shukunegi is designated by the Agency of Culture as an Important Conservation Area for the Group of Traditional Architectures (重要伝統的建造物群保存地区) or denken-chiku (伝建地区).

Many houses still adopt a traditional roofing of wood plates placed under stone weights. It used to be common in rural areas during the Edo era (1603-1868) but was replaced with roof tiles in the Meiji era and onwards.

The rocky cove for washtub boating is seen in the upper left.

Tags:   townscape architecture seascape 佐渡市 新潟県 Japan Denkenchiku 伝統的建造物群保存地区 Niigata Nigata Sado

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