観る、食べる、飲む、遊ぶ。新潟県南東部の魚沼エリアには明確な“旅したい理由”が詰まっている。

2000年にスタートした世界最大級の国際芸術祭『大地の芸術祭　越後妻有アートトリエンナーレ』で、アートディレクター、北川フラム氏が住人とともに芸術が息づく広大な地域づくりを浸透させ、
最近では地方創生のキーパーソンであり、ライフスタイル提案型の宿泊施設ブームの立役者、岩佐十良氏が「里山十帖」で魅力たっぷりの里山の食材とともに暮らしをデザインすることを説き、さらに地産地消の吟味された食材や料理法を追求する「雪国A級グルメ」プロジェクトで、地域に根付いた食の尊厳を取り戻した。
もともと春夏は鮮やかな緑を蓄えた里山と田畑が広がり、秋冬は豪雪地帯に変貌……と、四季の移り変わりに富んだ清らかな水が特徴の美しい場所。そんな絶好の環境と、モダンなアートとライフスタイルのマッチングは、まさに今私たちが求めているコージーな空間。素朴ながら、心を動かされずにはいられない。

東京から上越新幹線でわずか1時間と少しで出合える、食べて、遊んで、アートに触れて思考を巡らせられる時間は、自然体にもどることの魅力を教えてくれる。

See, eat, drink, and play: Niigata Prefecture’s southeastern Uonuma area offers travelers a plethora of compelling reasons to visit.
Back in 2000, art director Fram Kitagawa launched the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial—the world’s largest international arts festival—and worked with the locals to put forth a vision of developing the Uonuma region as an expansive community incorporating works of art. In recent years, Toru Iwasa, a leading figure in regional revitalization efforts throughout Japan—and the man responsible for the boom in lodging facilities providing lifestyle design solutions—exemplified the beauty of designing a lifestyle that includes delicious local ingredients with the creation of Satoyama Jujo. And with the Yukiguni A-kyu Gourmet (Grade-A Foods from the Snow Country) Project, he has advocated for the use of truly local ingredients—locally produced for local consumption—and regional cooking methods, which has helped to restore the region’s standards of food quality. All of this serves to highlight the natural magnificence of the region, where you can tangibly experience the changing seasons—in spring and summer, bright green spreads throughout the mountain villages and fields, which are then transformed by heavy snowfall during fall and winter. The combination of such ideal surroundings with modern art and a contemporary lifestyle creates exactly the kind of simple, cozy atmosphere coveted by our editors and readers alike—there was no way we weren’t going to pay Uonuma a visit. 　

A short trip of a little over an hour from Tokyo on the Tohoku Shinkansen brings you to an escape where you can spend your time eating, playing, discovering art, and getting lost in your thoughts. Once there, you’ll start to realize how much you’ve missed getting back to life’s basics.