For the third day in a row we stay in the Chubu region of Japan to visit Niigata Prefecture, which faces the Sea of Japan. Its capital is also called Niigata and it also includes the sixth largest island of Japan: Sado.
1. What kind of animal is an inga (いんが) in Niigata?
2. What kind of animal is a kanageccho (かなげっちょ) in Niigata?
3. Prior to the Meiji Restoration, the area of Niigata was divided into which two provinces?
4. Niigata city is the third largest city in Japan facing the Sea of Japan: true or false?
5. What is the name of the actor born in Niigata who played the role of Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in the movie, The Last Samurai?
6. This 30-metre tall Shinto torii gate is at the entrance of which shrine in Niigata? (Hint: the shrine is home to the Shida-no-Otachi, the longest sword in Japan)
7. Sado Island is home to which world-renowned taiko ensemble?
8. What kind of food is a poppo-yaki: (a) a side dish (b) a main dish (c) a dessert/snack
9. What is the prefectural flower of Niigata?
10. Write a haiku poem that best describes the beauty and charms of Niigata.
Answers for Day 32: (1) tongue (2) a cow (3) (b) 8 (4) (a) 9 (5) 1998 (6) Japanese macaques (7) true (the Daio Wasabi Farm; 大王わさび農場) (8) Matsumoto (9) Takeru Kobayashi