*This article is a tie-up with Kamifuru Dan, which enjoys telling the story of Kamikomachi and its surroundings.

Seafood freshly harvested from the Sea of Japan, vegetables and livestock products from the fertile land of the Echigo Plain and its clear water sources. And rice and sake, which continue to make a name for themselves throughout the country. Niigata, known for its gastronomic delights, is a veritable treasure trove of foodstuffs!

The Kamikomachi to Furumachi area in the centre of Niigata City is lined with restaurants where you can enjoy Niigata's unique cuisine and delicious drinks.

This issue introduces three izakaya (Japanese style pubs) in the Kamifuru and Furumachi areas that use a lot of Niigata produce, divided into vegetables, fish and meat. All of them are popular not only with visitors from outside the prefecture, but also with locals who have many ardent fans.

Furumachi area, where Niigata's foodies gather.

The Furumachi area stretches across the centre of Niigata Island, about 10 minutes by bus from Niigata Station.

This area, which was developed as a minato-machi during the Edo period, flourished not only as the economic heart of the city, but also as a place of hospitality for people coming from outside, and still retains its atmosphere today.

The Kamifuru and Furumachi areas are home to a wide variety of shops and people, from reasonably priced izakayas (Japanese-style pubs) to famous restaurants frequented by celebrities known for their unrivalled love of sake, as well as kappo restaurants and ryotei restaurants with a long history and prestigious reputation. It often happens that the person drinking at the next table is the president of a famous Niigata company.

You could say that this is an area where foodies who know the city well congregate.

That's how fresh and tasty the food is in Furumachi.

In Furumachi, I went to a tavern where I enjoyed Niigata's food at its best!

Taste Niigata's vegetables and sake at Zakata Izakaya Shinonohimo Furumachi.

First, a seven-minute walk from Hakusan Shrine, the main shrine of Niigata. The "Zakka Izakaya Shinohimo Furumachi" is tucked away in the alleyway connecting Furumachi Dori, the main street of Kamifuru, and Nishibori Dori. A must-visit for anyone visiting the Kamifuru area.

This nostalgic restaurant, housed in an entirely renovated old house, offers more than 40 types of sake produced in the prefecture and dishes made from locally sourced ingredients.

The extensive menu, based on creative Japanese cuisine and arranged to suit sake based on the ideas of the owner, who has a Western background, will delight a wide range of customers of all ages and genders.

The owner says: "There are many restaurants in Furumachi where you can taste delicious food, mainly seafood, so I want to convey a different appeal, such as vegetable dishes and sake that women can also enjoy. The owner's spirit has resulted in Shinonohime offering a wide range of dishes that allow you to enjoy vegetables from Niigata.

The first thing we ordered was today's sake vegetable platter (980 yen), a collection of seasonal specialities such as dashimaki tamago (rolled egg), cod roe kobuyaki, butterbur sprouts tempura and pickled wasabi greens in soy sauce, etc. Four to five items, each with a unique Niigata flavour, make for a perfect starter.

The next dish we recommend is Oven-baked Niigata Vegetables (980 yen), where you can taste the charm of Niigata's vegetables straight from the oven.

This hearty dish contains more than 10 seasonal vegetables, including yawa skin leeks with their attractive sweetness, pumpkin, sweet potato, taro and meaty shiitake mushrooms. The savoury aroma of the burnt butter and soy sauce sauce, which is generously mixed in, is irresistible. This is a popular menu item that most customers order.

Please visit here for the main course.

Sakura sea bream shabu-shabu (from 1,200 yen per person) is available only from around February to April. The tighter-fleshed sakura sea bream, which is also excellent as sashimi, is made into a luxurious shabu-shabu, allowing you to enjoy its concentrated flavour and sweetness.

Of course, it is best paired with sake.

To match this is Taiyozakari Shigumo Hon Nama from Taiyo Shuzo, a sake brewery in Murakami City. The fresh aroma and fresh mouthfeel of this unpasteurised new sake will enhance the flavour of the sakuratai even further.

I kept having a slice and then a drink, and before I knew it, the sake bottle was empty...

'Since you've come all the way down to our narrow alleyway, we want to make sure we communicate with you and treat you well.' The owner of the shop.

As well as the delicious food of Niigata, you will also feel the warm spirit of hospitality that has taken root in Furumachi.

Miscellaneous Izakaya Shinohimo, Furumachi Branch.

Address: 737 Yonbancho, Nishiborimae-dori, Chuo-ku, Niigata City

Tel: 025-222-5285

Opening hours: 18:00 - 2:00am

Closed: No regular holidays

HP: https: //shinonome-nishibori.owst.jp/

Taste all the fish of Niigata at Shungo Shusai Goro Furumachi.

From "Shinonomoto", return to Furumachi Dori and walk northeast for about 10 minutes.

Enter Furumachi-dori 8-bancho and go to the Furumachi branch on your right.

The head chef personally visits local fish markets and farmers to ensure that only ingredients that he can confidently offer are purchased.

You can enjoy the spirit of local production for local consumption at this restaurant, where almost everything, from the seafood and vegetables to the Yasuda tile-arranged tableware and sake cups, is made in Niigata.

If you come to Goro, the first thing to do is seafood anyway.

Ask the head chef what he recommends today, who says that even on days when he doesn't plan to go to the market, he can't stay away if he gets a call that a good fish has come in .

Crisp, firm seafood from the rough seas of the Sea of Japan, where the water temperature is low.

The more you bite into the fish, the more the flavour of the fish spreads into your mouth, and if you match the lingering taste with a glass of sake, you will feel the pleasure of having visited Niigata.

The Seasonal Sashimi Platter (from JPY 1,600 per person) offers eight different types of sashimi, including sea bream, cold yellowtail, seared throat black and southern shrimp, all caught on Sado Island, and the quintessential taste of seasonal seafood from within Niigata Prefecture.

To accompany the "Goro" snacks, try the original, limited edition Goro sake (480 yen), which is only available here. This is a pure rice sake made entirely by the Niigata brewery Imadaiji Sake Brewery, which has been producing it since the establishment of the restaurant." It is popular for its light, dry and refreshing taste that gently accompanies Goro dishes.

If you come to Goro, don't forget to try their speciality Goro-meshi (580 yen).

An original rice bowl made from delicious Niigata rice flavoured with butter and topped with a total of 10 different toppings, including grilled salmon from Murakami, homemade salted fish, ume wasabi, suji mushrooms and natto (fermented soy beans).

Stir the mixture vigorously and a euphoric sensation fills your mouth.

'We want to make Niigata a tourist destination through food', says the head chef.

When we asked him about his cooking, he told us with eyes that sparkled like a boy's. 'He really takes pride in his work...'

On the restaurant's Instagram andFacebook pages, where the chef communicates, you can witness videos of the purchasing process and the preparation of the food.

The gratitude to Niigata's fishermen and farmers, and their passion for local production for local consumption, can be clearly felt, and will definitely raise your expectations of the restaurant! The restaurant is a must-see.

Shunyo Shusai Goro, Furumachi Branch.

Address: 1446, Furumachi-dori 8-bancho, Chuo-ku, Niigata City, Niigata

Tel: 025-229-5379

Opening hours: Sunday - Thursday 17:30 - 1:30am

Fri-Sat 17:30 - 2:00pm

Closed: Year-end and New Year holidays

HP: http: //www.ideal-co.jp/goro_hurumachi.html

Enjoy bird dishes in the Showa-era atmosphere of "Saisaburo".

Have you had your fill of Niigata's izakayas yet?

No, no, no, if you've come to Furumachi, with its traditional shops, you should at least visit one more.

Leave Goro and walk further northeast on Furumachi Dori for about five minutes. Finish at "Saisaburo " in Furumachidori 11, a place full of Showa-era atmosphere.

The owner, a native of Murakami City in northern Niigata Prefecture, opened his restaurant in this downtown area a whopping 40 years ago. Since then, the restaurant has been loved by many local sake drinkers for its snacks, which are mainly made from ingredients from the northern part of the prefecture, and its extensive line-up of local sake.

The first dish you should try at Saisaburo is the Niigata speciality 'fried half a young chicken ' (700 yen). The skin is crispy to the touch and the meat is plump and juicy, and no matter which part of the chicken you bite into, it is full of flavour and will make you smile. Even with such a large portion, it is said that many people eat it up in no time at all.

"Chicken food in Niigata?" However, since the early 2000s, the whole prefecture has been involved in the development and promotion of the Niigata Jidori chicken brand, which has become widely popular. There are also many restaurants offering specialised bird dishes.

Incidentally, the fried half of young chicken is available in a choice of three different flavours - curry, garlic or salt and pepper - and can be served in chunks for easier eating on request.

The refreshing chicken ponzu (480 yen) is also popular at the restaurant.

This dish offers a moist and tasty chicken flavour and is a perfect sake snack.

However, Saisaburo is not only about chicken dishes. Another reason for its popularity is that you can enjoy seafood, which goes perfectly with sake, at a price that is easy on the wallet.

The owner still drives to the ports of Iwafune and Yamakita, nearly 50 km from Niigata City, to buy freshly harvested seafood directly.

'If you want to offer your customers good products at a good price, you have to do your own legwork!' He said.

The owner's wishes are reflected in this sashimi platter (1,000 yen per person). You can enjoy three seasonal dishes of mainly white fish, such as ara, sea bass and sea bream.

Sashimi shining in a light cherry-blue colour will make you want to drink more sake just by looking at it. The smooth texture, the plump, bouncy texture and the natural sweetness of the fish are irresistible.

'I want people to enjoy Niigata's delicacies without any pretensions.'

As the owner says with a gentle smile, at Saisaburo you can enjoy Niigata's gastronomic delights without worrying about what's in your wallet.

The owner laughed and said, "I'm too old for another 10 years", but I hope he will keep the light on for as long as possible as a good downtown shop that is loved by many people.

《Sai Saburo》

Address: 1690, Furumachidori 11-bancho, Chuo-ku, Niigata City, Niigata

Tel: 025-224-8967

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 18:00-24:00

Sundays and holidays 18:00-23:00

May close early if the owner gets tired.

Closed: Tuesdays

How was your izakaya tour of Niigata's gastronomy?

Taste fresh ingredients freshly caught in Niigata with crisp sake made from Niigata rice. We hope you had such a blissful time.

This is common to all three of the restaurants we have introduced, but all the owners are well versed in the wonders of Niigata's sake. Please feel free to ask them for information on how it goes with their dishes and what they recommend at the moment.

You will surely be able to experience the deep charm of Niigata that cannot be contained in guidebooks or on the internet.

*All prices listed are exclusive of tax.