Event

An annual event! As one of our efforts to create attractive places to visit at night around the island, this year we will again light up the historic Kitazawa Flotation Plant.

Three restaurants on Sado Island and three popular ramen shops in Niigata Prefecture will serve “a bowl of ramen that pairs perfectly with Sado-grown Koshihikari rice.” We’ll be serving ramen that showcases each shop’s unique character and creativity. Next to the ramen shops, we’ll set up a booth featuring freshly cooked Sado-grown Koshihikari rice. In addition, we’ll feature traditional Sado performing arts, live music, merchandise booths, and hands-on activities, allowing you to experience the charm of Niigata Prefecture’s food and culture with all five senses. Don’t miss this chance to discover a truly special bowl of ramen—please come visit the “Sado Rice and Noodles Festival 2026” venue.

The annual Big Flea Market will be held again this year at Ryotsu Shopping Street. A wide variety of clothing, toys, food, and other miscellaneous items will be up for sale. This major event attracts many people every year.

Kotoura Matsuri is the annual festival of Hakusan Shrine, situated in the Ogi Kotoura area which is famous for its good diving spots. Two big, red lions parade through the streets from door to door on the 2nd, to drive away evil spirits.

Momijiyama Festival is annually held on the last Sunday of October at Momijiyama Park, one of the top spots to view autumn leaves, and attracts many visitors from both inside and outside the island. The persimmon peeling contest, matsutake mushroom hunting and other attractions are gaining popularity. Visitors can enjoy soba buckwheat noodles, too. This event is chock full of pleasures to savor autumn on Sado Island.

This is a seafood event held at the Sado Regional Seafood Wholesale Market. The event features a variety of activities, including an on-site sales area and entertainment performances. *Please see the "Notes" section for the flyer image.

There are three types of puppet theater on Sado Island, each in the form of a one-man puppet show that retains the old form of joruri, and each is performed by a preservation society in various locations on the island. The regular performances of puppet plays have been revived for the first time in decades. Please come and join us.

This event has become a well-known food event on Sado Island. Visitors can enjoy traditional performing arts while eating Osaki soba (buckwheat noodles), a specialty of the island, boiled and seasoned fish, and other local delicacies. Many tourists and repeaters come from outside the island, so be sure to make reservations early.

This event brings together folk song groups from all over Sado Island. This year's theme is "Iwau - Folk songs about the World Heritage-listed gold mine on Sado Island" A raffle will be held before the finale. You may win wonderful products!

Osaki Soba no Kai is a gourmet event which has achieved widespread popularity. While sampling the specialty soba (buckwheat noodles) and local dishes such as nishime (a stewed dish), you can enjoy a variety of traditional local performing arts. This is an event that satisfies both your stomach and heart! Book early, as spaces fill up quickly with both tourists from outside the island and repeat visitors.

For those of you who love Sado, the Sado Cultural Foundation presents this workshop. Hear directly from the performers, learn their movements, and experience Sado performing arts rooted in daily life.

This winter's new stage production is a collaborative piece featuring guest performer Choi Jaecheol, a Korean drum artist (changgo). It is a project-style piece created by exploring together Choi's advocacy of "the rhythm that emerges from walking." Enjoy this latest work that looks at the three pillars of "physicality, musicality, and spirituality" from the ground up. It is both new and profound - uniquely KODO.

Otaue Rice Planting Festival takes place at Gosho Shrine, which is well-known for its huge cedar tree. Performances mimicking rice planting activities are dedicated to the shrine deity to bring a bountiful harvest to the community. The rituals of the festival are divided into seven parts: seedling picking, field plowing, lunch break during planting activities, field-flattening, planting, and dinner after planting. During the rituals of seedling picking and planting, konaeuchi musicians (played by boys) perform music accompanied by the rhythm of drums. After the rituals, offerings to the deity are shared by the attendants. This event is designated as a Niigata Prefecture Intangible Folk Cultural Asset.

This event has become a well-known food event on Sado Island. Visitors can enjoy traditional performing arts while eating Osaki soba (buckwheat noodles), a specialty of the island, boiled and seasoned fish, and other local delicacies. Many tourists and repeaters come from outside the island, so be sure to make reservations early.

The Sado Bonfire Noh season kicks off with Noh peformances at Daizen Shrine. One of four Noh stages in the Kuninaka area, the stage at Daizen Shrine was reconstructed in 1846, and is said to be the oldest among others still in existence in Sado. Encased in green, the stage features a thatched and hipped roof and has an elegant atmosphere. Witness the opening of the Sado Noh season, while taking in the fresh spring breeze.

With the guidance and cooperation of Mr. Honma (head of the Sado branch of the Hosho School), the Ryotsu Takigi Noh also plays a role in preserving the heritage and quality of Noh on Sado Island. The performances take place on the Noh stage at Shiizaki Suwa Shrine, overlooking Lake Kamo, in a magical atmosphere.Please come and enjoy this traditional Noh performance, which has been supported and nurtured by the local community.

A commemorative Noh performance honoring Kanze Motokiyo (Zeami), who was exiled to Sado. The performance takes place in the main hall of Shōhō-ji Temple—where Zeami once stayed—amidst the ethereal glow of candlelight.Before the performance begins, a Omotesenke-style tea ceremony titled “The Moon at the Place of Worship,” featuring deep-sea water from Hatano-Tada—the site where Zeami first arrived—will be held. There will also be a special lecture and a public exhibition of the “Shinji-men Beshimi” (rain-praying mask), a prefecturally designated tangible cultural property said to have been used by Zeami.

With the guidance and cooperation of Mr. Honma (head of the Sado branch of the Hosho School), the Ryotsu Takigi Noh also plays a role in preserving the heritage and quality of Noh on Sado Island. The performances take place on the Noh stage at Shiizaki Suwa Shrine, overlooking Lake Kamo, in a magical atmosphere.Please come and enjoy this traditional Noh performance, which has been supported and nurtured by the local community.

The Noh stage at Ozen Shrine is said to be the oldest existing Noh stage on Sado Island. It is one of the "Four Noh Places in Sado Province" and has been used for Noh performances since ancient times. The stage features a mirrored panel with a picture of a pine tree and a sunflower. Regular Noh plays are performed every year, and the stage is dedicated to Shinto rituals along with Sagi-style Kyogen (Kyogen). Kyogen plays performed during the Noh play include Okura-ryu, Izumi-ryu, and Sagi-ryu. The Sagi-ryu is the only three remaining schools of Kyogen in Japan. Yamaguchi City in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Chiyoda Town in Saga Prefecture, and Sado Island. Kyogen declined in the Meiji era (1868-1912), and the Sagi-ryu school of Kyogen on Sado Island was said to have disappeared in the 1950s. In the 1975's, the herald of Sagi-ryu Kyogen was identified in Mano-cho at that time, and this form of Kyogen was revived. The Sado Sagi-ryu Kyogen Kenkyukai (Sado Sagi-ryu Kyogen Society) has been working on its transmission and dissemination.

Ushio Shrine is a historic shrine with roots tracing back to Izumo Taisha. Its Noh stage exudes dignity and grandeur and is among the largest on Sado Island. The tradition of “Takigi-Noh” (firewood-heated Noh performances) here is also one of the oldest on the island.During the eve of the Tenno Festival, a “takigi-no” Noh performance is dedicated on the Noh stage. “Oni-daiko” drum performances from Katagami and Agata are also presented. On the main day of the festival, the Miko Dance and the Daikoku Dance are performed. A mikoshi procession takes place, and the Oni-daiko drummers go from house to house, performing at each gate.

The Noh stage at Kusakari Shrine is believed to date from before the early Meiji period, and records of Noh performances from the late Edo period have been preserved. Noh performances have continued uninterrupted, and a “takigi-nō” (firewood-heated Noh performance) is dedicated annually on June 15 during the Kusakari Shrine Annual Festival (Hamo Festival).Bonfires illuminate the stately Noh stage, drawing the audience into a world of mystery and elegance.

Myosen-ji Temple is known for housing Niigata Prefecture’s only five-story pagoda. The temple grounds are home to the tomb of Lord Hino Mototomo. Lord Mototomo, who was exiled to Sado Island and died in prison, is also known for the Noh play “Danpū,” which is based on the *Taiheiki*.At Myōsen-ji Temple, the “Lord Hino Memorial Noh Performance” is held on July 3, the anniversary of Lord Mototomo’s death, to commemorate him. Noh and Kyōgen performances are dedicated on a stage set against a backdrop of an old pine tree in the tatami-mat room of the main hall.

With the guidance and cooperation of Mr. Honma (head of the Sado branch of the Hosho School), the Ryotsu Takigi Noh also plays a role in preserving the heritage and quality of Noh on Sado Island. The performances take place on the Noh stage at Shiizaki Suwa Shrine, overlooking Lake Kamo, in a magical atmosphere.Please come and enjoy this traditional Noh performance, which has been supported and nurtured by the local community.

Kasuga Shrine is considered the birthplace of Noh theater on Sado Island. In 1645, Okubo Nagayasu—the first Sado magistrate and a former Noh performer—built a Noh stage here, and this is where Sado’s first ceremonial Noh performance was dedicated.The current stage was relocated from the Hamō district in 2006 by a group of volunteers. In addition to ethereal Noh dances, local performing arts unique to Sado—such as “Sado Okesa” and “Aikawa Ondo”—are also performed here.

A memorial service and a dedication dance are held in memory of Zeami, who was exiled to Sado.In front of the stage, sutras are recited and representatives offer incense; this is followed by a Noh performance, preceded by su-utai (vocal recitation) and shimai (choreographed dance). The memorial service for Zeami—who is regarded as the master who perfected Noh—attracts performers not only from Sado but also from off the island.

In the Hamō district, a nighttime Noh performance will be held on the Noh stage at Kusakari Shrine. During the evening, local residents will perform Noh plays they have been rehearsing daily.

With the guidance and cooperation of Mr. Honma (head of the Sado branch of the Hosho School), the Ryotsu Takigi Noh also plays a role in preserving the heritage and quality of Noh on Sado Island. The performances take place on the Noh stage at Shiizaki Suwa Shrine, overlooking Lake Kamo, in a magical atmosphere.Please come and enjoy this traditional Noh performance, which has been supported and nurtured by the local community.

With the guidance and cooperation of Mr. Honma (head of the Sado branch of the Hosho School), the Ryotsu Takigi Noh also plays a role in preserving the heritage and quality of Noh on Sado Island. The performances take place on the Noh stage at Shiizaki Suwa Shrine, overlooking Lake Kamo, in a magical atmosphere.Please come and enjoy this traditional Noh performance, which has been supported and nurtured by the local community.