The Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival, an event where visitors can tour and experience manufacturing sites at factories in the Tsubame-Sanjo area of Niigata Prefecture, will be held from October 1st to 4th.
Started in 2013, the Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival is an annual event where companies in the Tsubame-Sanjo area of Niigata Prefecture simultaneously open their factories to the public. During the festival, visitors can casually interact with the artisans working at the factories, tour the manufacturing sites, and even participate in workshops where they can actually experience manufacturing. This initiative has garnered much attention in the past two events, winning the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the Industrial Tourism Urban Development Awards in 2014 and the Good Design Award in the same year.
This year, the third festival, will see 67 factories open to the public. The lineup includes Yoshihei Hamono, which crafts knives that are "easy to cut, long-lasting, and rust-resistant" based on 150 years of skills and trust; Fukugao Sake Brewery, which produces Niigata's signature light, dry sake using the sake-brewing rice varieties "Gohyakumankoku" and "Echitanrei," grown in the natural beauty of the Sanjo-Shimoda area; Mizuno Seisakusho, which makes axes and metal-holding chopsticks; and Gyokusendo, which produces a wide range of copperware, including tea utensils, sake utensils, and flower vases. Workshops include polishing sake cups to a mirror finish, creating your own original knife, and carving octagonal chopsticks from wood. Following on from last year, an official bus tour will also be held, allowing visitors to efficiently visit three or four factories in a half-day. The tour will include visits to various types of factories accompanied by volunteer guides with extensive knowledge of Tsubame-Sanjo. In addition, in the evenings, the factory will be opened as a place for artisans to interact with each other away from work, and a reception party will be held.

[Event Information]
Tsubame-Sanjo Factory Festival
Venue: All over Sanjo and Tsubame cities, Niigata Prefecture
Dates: October 1st to 4th
Time: 9:00-16:00 (excluding 12:00-13:00)
Admission: Free