Salon MonET

Travel Information

Photo by Nakamura Osamu

Photo by Nakamura Osamu

Photo by Nakamura Osamu

Photo by Kioku Keizo

Photo by Nakamura Osamu

Photo by Nakamura Osamu

Facility Info and Map

This is a café featuring the artwork “Two River” by Massimo Bartolini feat. Lorenzo Bini. The countless round mobiles hanging from the ceiling evoke the movement of a river’s surface. When the tables are joined together, they form the Shinano River, and the ceiling lights cast a warm glow that seems to follow its course. Inside the café, where time flows as gently and abundantly as a river, conversations among guests are sure to flow freely.

Following the July 2021 reopening of the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET, Nakatani Michiko’s artwork “Voice from afar” and a collection of books have been added to the gently curved walls of the interior.

*Access is limited to visitors entering the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET.

Relax with a cup of coffee in an artistic setting

We offer a variety of beverages, including coffee, tea, and apple juice. You can also enjoy seasonal sweets made with local ingredients. With free Wi-Fi available in the café, you can relax here while planning your trip or simply taking a break.

Photo by Nakamura Osamu

Photo by Nakamura Osamu

Photo by Nakamura Osamu

Facility Info and Map

Open hours	[Open] Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from April 25 (Sat) to November 8 (Sun) [Hours] 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Last order at 4:30 PM)
Tel	025-761-7766
Seats	30
Admission	Available only to visitors of the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET
Address	6-1-71-2 Honmachi, Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture; Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET, 2nd Floor

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Related Information

FEATURED

^4/25SAT ‐ ^11/8SUN

*Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (except holidays)

Echigo-Tsumari Art Field 2026

The Echigo-Tsumari Art Field 2026’s year-round program kicks off on April 25! Enjoy Echigo-Tsumari as you explore Special Exhibitions and events amidst the ever-changing scenery of the rural mountains and forests.

^4/11SAT ‐ ^6/15MON

Echigo-Tsumari MonET Special Exhibition Vol. 10
"Ryosaku Miyasaka: ART at 75"

A series of Special Exhibitions held at the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET since 2023. For each Special Exhibition, a guest curator selects the artists and organizes the exhibition.

^6/27SAT ‐ ^8/31MON

Echigo-Tsumari MonET Special Exhibition Vol. 11: Ryosuke Higo, “Cancer Queen”

A series of Special Exhibitions held at the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET since 2023. For each Special Exhibition, a guest curator selects the artists and organizes the exhibition.

Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET

A hub facility for the Echigo-Tsumari Art Filed. The building was designed by Hara Hiroshi＋ATELIERΦ, the firm behind the Kyoto Station Building. It features 15 permanent artworks by artists from Japan and abroad, on display year-round, and hosts Special Exhibitions each season. A museum shop is also on site. The facility underwent a major renovation in 2021, with a significant overhaul of its permanent collection, and reopened to the public.

Echigo-Tsumari Exchange Center: Akashi no Yu

This hot spring is located in the heart of Tokamachi city. It’s about a 10-minute walk from Tokamachi Station, making it convenient for visitors arriving by train. The same building houses the Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, MonET, and right next door is the Kurotsuten Tokamachi Roadside Station, so you can enjoy art, dining, and shopping for souvenirs.

Echigo-Tsumari Exchange Center: Akashi no Yu (Café & Shop)

Located about a 10-minute walk from Tokamachi Station, this hot spring facility features a café area and an entrance hall with interactive art installations. Even if you don’t plan to bathe, admission to the entrance hall, café, and shop is free. The same building houses an art museum, and there is a roadside station next door, so you can enjoy viewing art, dining, and shopping for souvenirs.

Nearby spots

Ubusuna House

This former minka house built in 1924 is reborn as a museum of potteries. On the ground floor, distinguished Japanese potters have reimagined a traditional cooking stove, washbasin, and bathtub. Visitors are welcome to enjoy local cuisines and delicacies cooked by local women and served in plates and bowls created by these potters. Three tea rooms on the upper floor also serve as a gallery space.

Hachi & Seizo Tashima Museum of Picture Book Art

A former elementary school opened in 2009 as an interactive “spatial picture book” museum created by artist Tashima Seizo. Featuring the school’s last three real-life students as the main characters, the museum uses the space to recreate a picture book-like setting, bringing to life not only the students and teachers who once attended the school but even the ghosts that haunt it. (Closed for the winter from late November to late April)

Tunnel of Light (Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel)

One of Echigo-Tsumari’s most iconic landmarks, the Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel, has been renovated to incorporate artworks. The 750-meter-long tunnel is conceptualized as a submarine cut off from the outside world, with artworks displayed throughout the interior—including four observation decks that serve as periscopes offering views of the outside.

Isobe Yukihisa Memorial Echigo-Tsumari Kiyotsu Soko Museum of Art ［SoKo］

A unique art museum housed in the former Kiyotsukyo Elementary School, offering visitors the chance to view large-scale artworks in expansive spaces. The gymnasium serves as both a storage facility and a gallery, while the school building has been transformed into a warehouse-style museum dedicated to the works of Isobe Yukihisa. Special Exhibitions are held periodically in the gymnasium. (Irregular opening hours)

House of Light

An artwork by light artist James Turrell. Conceived as a guesthouse for meditation, it was modeled after the Hoshina Residence, a traditional local dwelling designated as an Important Cultural Property. Turrell drew inspiration for this concept from Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s *In Praise of Shadows*, blending the intimate light of traditional Japanese architecture with the light-based works he has created.

Stay In Touch

Stay connected with the ETAT official social media to receive the latest news and event information, and the many seasonal faces of Echigo-Tsumari as well as new issue of the ETAT official media, “Art from the Land”.