Niitsu was a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The city itself was founded on January 1, 1951, but the area had already been opened to railway traffic as early as November 20, 1897. As of 2003, the city had an estimated population of 66,058 and the density of 843.87 persons per km2. The total area was 78.28 km2. The city is notable for its Peace Pagoda, built by Nipponzan Myohoji in 1967. On March 21, 2005, Niitsu was merged into the expanded city of Niigata.