NIPPONIA Sado Aikawa Goldmine Town named one of the world’s greatest places 2025

TIME magazine has announced its list of The World’s Greatest Places of 2025. In the category “Places to Stay,” NIPPONIA Sado Aikawa Goldmine Town, located on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, earned recognition. NIPPONIA was placed alongside other Japanese locations such as Mirukashi Salon (Saga Prefecture), Kumano Nachi Taisha and Seiganto-ji Temple (Wakayama Prefecture), and the Nintendo Museum (Kyoto Prefecture).

NIPPONIA Sado Aikawa Goldmine Town is a collaborative town-building initiative spearheaded by a local organisation working in concert with government agencies, private entities, and residents. The selection for TIME’s list was jointly promoted by the Niigata Prefecture Tourism Association and the Sado Tourism and Exchange Organization. Furthermore, it reinforces the goals of the High-Value Regional Inbound Tourism Destination Development Project for Sado and Niigata, a designation awarded by the Japan Tourism Agency in September 2024.

Four Japanese destinations make the list in the previous year, including Mori Building Digital Art Museum: Epson teamLab Borderless and MUJI Hotel GINZA, both in Tokyo, Guntu in the Seto Inland Sea, and Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu in Tokyo. This year’s inclusion of NIPPONIA Sado highlights the growing global appeal of sustainable and culturally immersive travel experiences in regional Japan.

NIPPONIA Sado Aikawa Goldmine Town was praised for its fusion of accommodation and cultural preservation. Located in the historic gold mining town of Aikawa, which flourished over a 400-year history, the area gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 2024. The hotel project revitalises this cultural asset, offering visitors a luxury stay that integrates local heritage, nature, and traditional aesthetics.

NIPPONIA Sado exemplifies Nipponia Hotels’ philosophy of restoring historic buildings in lesser-known areas. Opening in summer 2024, the hotel transformed former merchant homes into guest lodgings featuring traditional elements like shoji screens, tatami mats, and washi lanterns. The preservation of earthen walls, ship timber flooring, and Niigata’s distinctive “interior storehouses” further enhances the experience.

Guests can enjoy breakfast on a hilltop terrace with sweeping island views, local cuisine, and unique experiences such as tarai-bune tub boat rides in bioluminescent bays and birdwatching for endangered toki crested ibis. Sake tasting tours provide additional cultural depth. If you are looking for a luxurious alternative to Japan’s urban hotel boom, consider this experience in Sado’s historic townscape!