![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/%E5%A5%A5%E5%8F%AA%E8%A6%8B%E6%B9%96%E9%81%8A%E8%A6%A7%E8%88%B9.jpg?w=640\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And this year, Uonuma is celebrating its own coming of age!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n As a writer on the subject of Japan and Japanese culture, I\u2019m often asked what some nice, out-of-the-way places are to visit in this county to which I often reply with, \u201cWhat do I look like? A travel agent? Scram!\u201d<\/p>\n But now, as luck would have it, I no longer have to resort to surliness because I found a great place that\u2019s off the beaten path and full of all the great things about Japan, like culture, food, and nature. Just north of Tokyo, in Niigata Prefecture, lies the picturesque city of Uonuma<\/strong>, one of the biggest rice-producing places in Japan<\/a>.<\/p>\n Uonuma was formed in 2005 from the merger of six towns, which means this year is the 20th birthday of the city, and it is now officially old enough to drink. In honor of this, they\u2019ll be holding the Uonumarche experiential event to showcase their unique food and culture on 8 November<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Since Uonuma is known as a mecca of rice in Japan, the main event of the festival is the Uonuma Okama-biraki rice cooking ceremony<\/strong>. \u201cKama-biraki\u201d is a term often used in tea ceremonies referring to the first use of a kettle or pot in a new harvest season, year, or chapter of one\u2019s life. It\u2019s used the same way here in that it\u2019s the symbolic first-cooking of the new rice harvest, where locals celebrate and give thanks. There will also be 300 rice balls handed out<\/strong>, all made with Uonuma\u2019s freshest rice and seasoned only with a little salt, so you can really taste what makes this rice stand out from the rest.<\/p>\n After that, you can take your rice experience to the next level with the Uonumariage<\/strong> section of the event. Here, you can learn from some real rice connoisseurs what side dishes go best with the best rice and taste the pairings for yourself.<\/p>\n And if you fancy yourself a rice connoisseur, you can prove it by taking on the Ichi-go Ichi-go (One Cup, One Encounter) challenge<\/strong>. This is where you must try to measure one \u201cgo<\/em>\u201d (150 grams) of rice using your five senses alone. It\u2019s a way to have a little fun while really getting in touch with this essential food.<\/p>\n And for the kids and young at heart, the Uonumatsuri<\/strong> will also be taking place, full of traditional Japanese festival attractions like shooting galleries, candy scooping games, and capsule toys. Meanwhile, the whole family can find something nice at the farmer\u2019s market<\/strong>, which will also be held at the Uonumarche venue.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a whole lot going on for just one day, but the city is holding numerous other events like rice-tastings and a stamp rally throughout the rest of the year. And even if you can\u2019t make it to Niigata anytime soon, Uonuma is bringing its best to urban Japan as well right now.<\/p>\n From 23 to 26 October, they\u2019ll be represented at the Eastern Japan Autumn Festival at JR Omiya Station in Saitama City.<\/strong> Here you can find Uonuma\u2019s specialties like the Miyuki Trout Sushi<\/strong> made with a local breed of fish, some of the best freshly harvested Koshihikari<\/strong> rice in Japan, and Koji Mitsu<\/strong> syrup, an intriguing additive-free rice sweetener syrup, made by the same fermentation process as sake and amazake.<\/p>\n \u25bc Miyuki Trout Sushi<\/p>\n \u25bc Koji Mitsu<\/p>\n Even aside from all this, Uonuma is an active community that frequently has events going on. It also has great skiing, golf, camping, sake breweries, and hot springs<\/a>, and is even home to works by Ishikawa Uncho, often referred to as the Michelangelo of Japan. So, assuming I haven\u2019t alienated everyone around me yet, the next time someone asks me to recommend a place to visit in Japan, I\u2019ll know exactly what to say.<\/p>\n Event information<\/strong> Eastern Japan Autumn Festival \/ \u6771\u65e5\u672c \u79cb\u306e\u65ec\u30d5\u30a7\u30b9 Photos \u00a9City of Uonuma<\/em> And this year, Uonuma is celebrating its own coming of age! As a writer on the subject of Japan and Japanese culture, I\u2019m often asked what some nice, out-of-the-way places…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2682\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/%E3%82%B3%E3%82%B9%E3%83%A2%E3%82%B9%E5%9C%922.jpg?w=640\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/%E9%AD%9A%E6%B2%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B7%E3%82%A7_LP_top_%E5%B0%8FJPG.jpg?w=640\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/contents-img01-03.jpg?w=560\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/contents-img01-05.jpg?w=560\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/%E9%AD%9A%E6%B2%BC%E7%BE%8E%E9%9B%AA%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99%E5%AF%BF%E5%8F%B8.jpg?w=640\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soranews24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/%E6%B2%BC%E7%94%A3%E3%82%B3%E3%82%B7%E3%83%92%E3%82%AB%E3%83%AA%E4%BD%BF%E7%94%A8%E7%B3%80%E3%81%BF%E3%81%A4%EF%BC%88%E9%AD%9A%E6%B2%BC%E9%86%B8%E9%80%A0%EF%BC%89.jpg?w=640\")
<\/p>\n
\nUonumarche \/ \u9b5a\u6cbc\u30de\u30eb\u30b7\u30a7
\nNiigata-ken, Uonuma-shi, Chi-iki Shinko Center 2F, Convention Hall
\n\u65b0\u6f5f\u770c\u9b5a\u6cbc\u5e02\u5730\u57df\u632f\u8208\u30bb\u30f3\u30bf\u30fc2F<\/span>\u30b3\u30f3\u30d9\u30f3\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3\u30db\u30fc\u30eb
\n8 November, 2025
\n10 a.m. \u2013 6 p.m.
\nWebiste<\/a><\/p>\n
\nJR Omiya Station West Exit Event Space & East-West Corridor & Eki Tabi Market
\nJR<\/span>\u5927\u5bae\u99c5 \u897f\u53e3\u30a4\u30d9\u30f3\u30c8\u30b9\u30da\u30fc\u30b9\u30fb\u6771\u897f\u9023\u7d61\u901a\u8def\u30fbEki Tabi MARKET
\nSaitama-ken, Saitama-shi, Omiya-ku, Nishikicho 630
\n<\/span>\u57fc\u7389\u770c\u3055\u3044\u305f\u307e\u5e02\u5927\u5bae\u533a\u9326\u753a630
\n23 -26 October, 2025<\/p>\n
\n\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published? Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"