Lily （ユリ, yuri）

Japanese Beech （ブナ, buna）

Tokamachi, when translated into English, becomes “Ten Day Town.” But why is this our city’s name? Since long ago, the city would host a market on the 10th of every month. During the town merger in 2005 (when suburbs Kawanishi, Matsudai, Matsunoyama, and Nakasato were officially absorbed), the name was reexamined but in the end remained the same due to its familiarity and desire to continue to expand and explore this new Tokamachi City.

The logo, designed to look like a person, is derived from the first kanji character in Tokamachi (十日町), or Ten. The head is orange, symbolizing the sun and the arms are outstretched in a warm embrace for anybody wishing to come here. The green and blue represent the blessings brought by the natural landscape and the Shinano River, whilst the white represents snow. This emblem is an expression of the hopes and dreams of a city which strives for development in harmony with its beautiful natural environment.

Bringing colour, imagination, and millions of visitors to the region, the “Echigo Tsumari Art Triennale” is an event like no other. With artworks dotted throughout a region roughly equal the size of Greater Tokyo, it is the world’s largest outdoor contemporary art festival, and boasts collaboration from both local artists and world renowned artists such as James Turrell and Yayoi Kusama. Even for the visitor with no particular interest in contemporary art, travelling across Echigo-Tsumari (the old name for today’s Tokamachi City and Tsunan Town) is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to discover the culture, lifestyles, landscape and foods of the Japanese countryside. Although the main festival is only held triennially, many of the artworks and events are accessible the following years as well. For more information, please see the event homepage.

Tokamachi City’s natural landscape is geographically diverse and nearly untouched by the human hand. Unique scenic sites such as the Hoshitoge Rice Terraces (pictured); the Bijinbayashi Forest, or “the Forest of Beauties”; and the Kiyotsu Gorge, counted as “1 of Japan’s 3 Most Beautiful Gorges and Valleys”, all attract great numbers of photographers and tourists year round. There are also numerous onsen located throughout the region, including Matsunoyama Onsen which is counted as “1 of Japan’s Top 3 Medicinal Onsen”.

Tokamachi City is part of the Snow Country Tourism Zone, and there are many events in the winter season which make use of the region’s heavy snowfall. The main event is the Tokamachi Snow Festival which features snow sculptures made only of snow and by hand of the residents of Tokamachi. A ton of delicious, hearty cuisine can be tried at this festival, you can enjoy playing in the snow , riding a sleigh, and admire the fireworks in the night! Other events include the Echigo Matsudai Fuyu-no-jin, and the Nakasato Snow Carnival. There are also many ski slopes throughout Tokamachi City and in the neighboring regions.

In Tokamachi, where for around half of the year heavy snowfall puts a halt to agriculture, textile manufacture has always been a prominent industry; the earliest evidence of this are weaving tools dating back to the ancient Kofun period that were discovered in the region. In the contemporary period, textile manufacture progressed from hemp to silk-based textiles during the Edo period, before the development of dyeing practices in the Showa period. Weavers in Tokamachi continued to make improvements to production techniques, creating kimono fabrics such as Tokamachi Gasuri and Tokamachi Akashi-chijimi, which helped the region to gain the name of “Town of Kimono.” Today, Tokamachi celebrates this unique culture at the annual Tokamachi Kimono Festival where hundreds of locals dress in kimono and populate the downtown area. Every years is held the "gathering of the twenty-year-old people". The youngers celebrate by dressing up with long sleeved kimono "furisode" and long pleated trousers "hakama".

Known nationally as the best quality rice in Japan, “Uonuma Koshihikari” brand rice is grown here in Tokamachi City. The snow-melt water, and the hot and cold temperature ranges in the Tokamachi basin area provide the perfect conditions for rice cultivation. Uonuma Koshihikari rice can be enjoyed at a number of restaurants and eateries throughout the region. Or alternatively, you can pick up a bag for yourself to take home as a souvenir.

A local specialty in Tokamachi, these soba noodles are served in a wooden tray known as a “hegi”. They are made using funori, a type of seaweed which was traditionally used in textile manufacture. The funori creates a slightly bouncy and firm texture soba noodle, distinguishing hegi soba from other variations of soba noodle. They are served in bite-sized coils which are said to symbolize both waves crashing onto the shore and coils of cloth. Hegi soba can be enjoyed at a number of specialist shops in Tokamachi City.