Niigata is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It lies on the northwest coast of Honshū, the largest island of Japan, and faces the Sea of Japan and Sado Island.

Following the Meiji Restoration it became a free port. Niigata was elevated to a city from a town in 1889, and on April 1, 2007, it became the first government-designated city on the Japan Sea coast of Honshū.