The City of Jyoetsu is best known for the Port of Naoetsu, which has also given its name to the main train station.

In the Port of Naoetsu old city of Takada is one of the best places in Japan for viewing cherry blossoms at night. The Takada Castle is lit by 3600 lanterns that illuminate the four thousand cherry trees. The 1614 Takada Castle was important during the Tokugawa era. It took diverting three rivers to build the castle, but it took only four months to construct. It has neither a stone wall nor a donjon, but its three-tiered turret is the castle’s symbol. Earthquakes and fire have damaged the castle in the Port of Naoetsu, but it was reconstructed in 1993. Today, it contains exhibitions related to the castle’s history and artifacts excavated at the castle digs. In the summer, an observation room on the third floor offers wonderful views of the outer moat covered with lotus blooms.

At the Rice and Sake Warehouse of Wonder, visitors can learn about the history, culture, and secrets of sake-making.

Each August, the Kenshin Festival, dedicated to warlord Uesugi Kenshin, involves warriors in real armor and helmets marching in procession up the mountain to the Mt. Kasuga Shrine.

The Port of Naoetsu’s Kusagayama Castle was Uesugi Kenshin’s fortress during the Sengoku period. Built and ruled by the Nagao clan and later the property of the Hori clan, who lived there for a short time before abandoning the fortress to build a castle Fujushima in 1607.

Another point of interest is the Kushiike Meteor Crater Park, the site of a huge 1920 meteor strike.

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