There's no excuse to stay indoors this summer when so many regions in Japan are offering great outdoor art festivals. Here's a few that we think are worth putting on the sun lotion for.
The city of Niigata is turning into an outdoor art museum for its Water and Land Niigata Art Festival (July 18-Oct. 12; www.mizu-tsuchi.jp) and the great news is, this year it's free. With "Where have we come from? Where are we going?" as its theme, the festival's works explore how the use of water and land has shaped Niigata's culture.
The kanji for "gata" in Niigata can be read as "kata," or "lagoon," and the prefecture's wet terrain has inspired many of the outdoor sculptures and architectural projects, which you'll find scattered across the four main lagoon areas of Niigata — Fukushimagata, Toyanogata, Sakata and Uwasegata. Other works can also be found at traditional houses and an old school building.