Hokkaido Toyako Summit
Venues
In Sado, the traditional culture that was brought in through an inflow of culturally influential figures from Kyoto and nurtured by trade of gold and silver produced from the local mines is still alive in a variety of forms.
In Echigo too, elements of traditional culture rooted in each local area and of the common culture nurtured under terms of coexistence with heavy snow remain in many places, and their value is being reaffirmed in the present age.
In the center of Niigata City, the Niigata City Performing Arts Center (Ryutopia), which combines a concert hall, theater, and Noh theater, has become the main base for civic culture. Meanwhile, out in the suburbs, a number of buildings representative of the former prosperity of the wealthy farming landowning classes have been preserved as museums. These include the Ito Estate, open to the public as the Northern Culture Museum (registered as an important national cultural property) and the Sasagawa Residence (designated as an important national cultural property).
Arts Center (Ryutopia)