Niigata Prefecture

is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of Japan on the island of Honshū.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Niigata-ken" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 711. The capital city is Niigata.Nussbaum, "Niigata" at p. 711.

 History 
Until after the Meiji Restoration, the area that is now Niigata Prefecture was divided into Echigo Province and Sado Province.Nussbaum, "Provinces and prefectures" at p. 780.  

Geography 
Niigata is next to Yamagata Prefecture, Toyama Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture and Fukushima prefecture. 

Niigata is the fifth largest prefecture in Japan by area.

In winter, it snows a lot in Niigata, and winter sports are popular.

National Parks
National Parks are established in about 25% of the total land area of the prefecture.Japan Ministry of the Environment, "General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture"; retrieved 2012-3-13. including 
 Bandai-Asahi National ParkJapan Ministry of the Environment,  "Bandai-Asahi National Park"  retrieved 2012-3-19.

Shrines and Temples
Yahiko-jinja, Kota-jinja, Amatsu-jinja and Watatsu-jinja are the chief Shinto shrines (ichinomiya) in the prefecture.  
"Nationwide List of Ichinomiya," p. 2 ; retrieved 2012-3-13.

Related pages
 Provinces of Japan
 Prefectures of Japan
 List of regions of Japan
 List of islands of Japan
 Albirex Niigata

References

 Other websites 

 Niigata Prefecture website