Sado Tourism Association

Sado is a beautiful island in the Japan Sea with a huge variety of tourist resources including a rich natural environment, history, traditional culture and performing arts. The influence of Kyoto culture brought by the nobles who were banished here in the middle ages, and the more recent influx of Edo culture (due to the prosperity of the gold mines) have made Sado a meeting-place for cultures from all over Japan. Each village has inherited a tradition of public entertainment, which is still performed. The whole island is involved in efforts to have the Sado gold mines, which supported the financial system of the Shogunate, registered as a World Heritage Site and residents from every area are helping with town building. Efforts are also underway to reintroduce the toki (Japanese crested ibis) , an internationally protected bird, and to create an environment conducive to its breeding. The Sado Tourist Association, in cooperation with firms involved in the tourist industry, and national administrative and private voluntary groups, promotes the conditions vital to a tourist destination by developing tourist resources, conserving the environment, maintaining facilities and improving hospitality. We also provide tourist information. The Sado Tourist Association and the people of Sado welcome you to Sado and hope that our island will inspire many happy memories.