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Itoigawa UNESCO Global Geopark is located near the centre of Honshu Island in the Niigata prefecture, Japan. The Geopark meets the Sea of Japan in the north, where the mountains of the Japan Alps sink into the sea, and is bordered in the south by high mountains. Topography ranging from coastal to alpine can be observed here, thus creating a wide variety of geology and topography, as well as richness in plant and animal life. The phrase "Department store of geology" simply, but precisely, describes Itoigawa UNESCO Global Geopark. The Itoigawa UNESCO Global Geopark has long been located at a plate boundary. The Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line passing through this area separates the Japanese Islands geologically into East and West, the Eurasian and North American plates. This great fault continues north through the sea, connecting to the Mid Atlantic Ridge via the Arctic Ocean. In this way, the Itoigawa UNESCO Global Geopark tells the story of not just the Japanese Islands, but also over 500 million years of the Earth’s history. Submarine limestone mountains from the ancient Pacific Ocean and jade formed in the deep subduction zones in the geological past, and are describing horizontal and vertical plate movement. The Fossa Magna, a fissure formed when the Japanese Islands separated from the Asian continent, is a key to understanding the islands’ formation. The Itoigawa UNESCO Global Geopark is truly a condensed model of the Japanese Islands.