Creative City Strategy Utilizing Regional Characteristics and Cultures

November 7, 2017 Kenzo Takahashi Deputy Mayor of City 1 Presentation Topics

 Utilizing what we have: geography, climate, history  Niigata developed as a port town despite not being a castle town  Tourists are often vulnerable in places they aren't familiar with  City planning with tourists in mind that also makes living more comfortable for a variety of citizens  Rediscovering our city and culture through tourists’ eyes  Using our port’s 150th anniversary as a springboard to the future  Showcasing and mountain cities all over the prefecture that are famous for snow and hot springs 2 Geographical Background ①

Location: Centrally located along the Sea side coast of (37°54′ N, 139°01′ E） Climate: Yearly average temperature 13.5℃ Annual precipitation 1,867mm Geography: Built upon Japan’s largest sand dune, featuring the , , Toyanogata Wetland, Sakata Wetland (Ramsar Convention Important Wetland)

Mouth of the Agano River

Mouth of the Shinano River

Sand dunes Expansive rice paddies Toyanogata Wetland 3 Geographical Background ③

Rice farmers waist deep in water (before 1953)

Transformed into Japan’s foremost fertile rice paddies, thanks to the hard work of our ancestors (present day) 4 Local Societal Backgrounds ①

Furumachi Geigi

Western Trade Route of the

Niigata Port bustling with Kitamaebune ships (1859)

Niigata was a port of call for the Kitamaebune trade ships (17th–19th C.) Deep-sea fishing boats lined up in Niigata Port (1910) 5 Initiatives based upon our History and Geography

Ⅰ Improving Functionality

Ⅱ Enhancing our Culture

Ⅲ Building stronger relationships with other regions

6 Ordinances and Initiatives Making the city comfortable for walking and easy to get around in using public transportation or bicycles

Walking events to promote healthy living Making the city bike-friendly

Guides to rediscovering old downtown Niigata Creating a pedestrian-friendly environment 7 City Planning for Comfortable Cycling

The Smart Cruise Cycles and Bike Lanes

Creating bike lanes on existing roads

Creation of a bike lane that goes the entire perimeter of Niigata island

Niigata City Ride: A 120km ride from the downtown The Smart Cruise rental system that lends area to the suburbs out various bikes from all over the world 8 A Sustainable and Convenient Bus System

Decreased Bus Ridership Less Bus Trips 65% decline ※The red lines are ones that were effected 40% drop in the last 10 years 80 over 20 over 10 years years 60 69

40 41 20 24

0 The number of bus trips dropped 1990H2 1995H7 H122000 H172005 H222010 20% over 10 years （1 million riders/ year） 2001 2012 4034 ３２０８

9 Public Transport in

Learning from the public transit system in Nantes, Niigata City’s sister city in France

Passengers boarding the BRT

The LRT that runs through Nantes

Transfer terminal between the BRT and buses to the suburbs 10 Niigata City’s New Bus System

Transfer terminal between the BRT and other Covered waiting area buses (in front of the City Office) Introducing the BRT and revising bus routes improved punctuality and efficiency

Increased ridership and number of routes

Consolidation of downtown routes helped to maintain lines to the suburbs 11 Downtown Waterfronts

Bandai Bridge Cherry blossoms along Yasuragi-tei Park (a National Important Cultural Property)

People jogging in Yasuragi-tei Park Apartments along the Shinano River 12 Utilizing our Waterfronts

People relaxing along the Yasuragi-tei Park The waterfront at night thanks to the Mizbering initiative

Families enjoying events on the water and the outdoors downtown 13 Niigata Sake no Jin (Sake Festival)

■Held every March in the Toki Messe Convention Center ■Over 85 breweries bring over 500 kinds of sake for people to enjoy ■A total of 130,000 people came to this two-day event in 2017

Sake brands that represent Niigata

Sake lovers from all over the country come Toki Messe filled with excitement and sake 14 Furumachi Geigi

Representative of the culture of Port Town Niigata and of Japan’s Big 3 along with those in ’s Gion and ’s Shinbashi

Nabechaya-dori, a street of traditional Ryotei restaurants in Furumachi

Geigi dancing at a Ryotei restaurant with over 100 years of history Furumachi Geigi in training 15 Dance in our DNA

Ama no Teburi (picture scroll painted mid-19th C.) It is said that starting approximately 300 years ago the locals danced for 4 days and nights to pray for plentiful harvests and sound health

16 Niigata Soh Odori Dance Festival

The Soh Odori Festival began as an attempt to recreate the image of the Ama no Teburi scroll in the present. Dancers, mostly from the younger generation, put on this all-genre 3-day dance festival. In 2017, 170,000 spectators watched 244 dance groups made up of 15,000 dancers perform.

Performing the Geta Soh Odori in the Bandai Niigata Soh Odori in Nantes in 2014 area of downtown Niigata 17 The Heart of our Arts and Culture

Niigata City Performing Arts Center RYUTOPIA Noism Japan’s first public residential dance company was founded in 2004 by Jo Kanamori, the Artistic Director of Ryutopia’s Dance Division

Based in Niigata, Noism performs all over Japan and the world

18 Water and Land Art Festival

19 Sister and Exchange Cities

2015 Celebrating 50 years of being sister cities with , 2015 Celebrating 50 years of being Russia sister cities with Galveston, USA

Russia United Kingdom Khabarovsk

China United States Jinan Galveston Qingdao France Niigata Nantes Korea Cheongju

2015 Franco-Japanese 2016 Celebrating 10 years of Cultural Dialogues exchange with Ulsan, Korea

20 Various Interregional Exchange

Franco-Japanese Culture Dialogue Culture City of East Asia Japan-France Local Government Exchange Conference

The Mayors’ Association of the Coastal Cities 21 150th Anniversary of Port Opening

th Regional Niigata during the Port’s 150 Anniversary and Beyond Revitalization Improved Port Facilities International Trade A New and Exchange Port Town Niigata Relationships (2020 and beyond) with other cities Increased Number of Visitors Revitalizing the Port 150th Anniversary Niigata Brands of Port Opening (2019) Developing our Port Town Charms

Port Town History Waterfront Areas Opening of and Culture Elegant Townscape Niigata Port (1869) The Start of a New Niigata 22 Onto Further Development of Niigata City

 Niigata City aims to have a steady and continuous increase in the number of visitors to the city

 We want to strive to increase the number of long-term tourists and repeat visitors

 To accomplish this, we plan to improve our city’s functionality and utilize what we have in Niigata 23 Thank you for listening