Sado Island

Sado Island, which floats on the Sea of Japan, is located in the Western Niigata Prefecture. Boasting an area of 855 km and a circumference of approximately 280 km, it is the largest Japanese island in the Sea of Japan. Though it was designated as a penal colony to which sinners were sent during the Nara Period, during the Edo Period, the development of the gold and silver mine was promoted with the island directly governed by the Shogunate.
Its current population is about 56,000. The island's rich soil is made use for rice production, fruit cultivation, and livestock industry as well as landing various fish and shellfish including crabs, shrimps, yellowtails, and oysters.
On Sado Island, which is rich in nature with 1,700 types of plants, you can also see the beautiful coastal topography represented by Senkaku Bay. In addition, the culture of Sado Island is a distinctive one, which is a fusion of the aristocratic culture brought in by aristocrats who were exiled to this land, the samurai culture transmitted by officials from Edo with the development of the mine, and the townspeople culture that came in with merchants and sailors. Noh (a major form of classical Japanese musical drama) and Onidaiko are well-known. Onidaiko is a form of classical performing arts which is unique to Sado.