Sometimes when I travel, I like to figure out what the locals do at weekends. One answer in Niigata is: take a regular train to Yahiko (here, the station staff are greeting us), wander around the little town and parkland admiring the cherry blossom, visit Yahiko Shrine (the religious site dates to prehistoric times), take the ropeway up Mt. Yahiko, go for a short hike, have a picnic. I did it all.
