Monday, June 27, 2011

Delicious food.

Over the three years I've been here, I've gone to over 60 different restaurants alone. Or at least, those listed in this lovely handy guidebook, called 鴨川夜のまち歩きガイド (which I've officially dubbed as "A Night on the Town in Kamogawa"). Each time I go to a new place, I take photos of the food I eat there, and publish that restaurant info in the English newsletter I write every month as a part of my job.

Here are photos of some of the food I've enjoyed at a few of my favorite places:

Sushi made with locally caught fish @ Fumi Sushi (地魚握り@富美寿司)
For many people, Japanese food = sushi. And fishing is a major industry in Kamogawa, so it's only natural? that there are lots of places here that serve delicious sushi. I enjoy sushi and sashimi a lot, but I'd never consider myself a sushi freak. But these gems were pure genius!!! Taste, texture, presentation, you name it...full points on everything. Fumi Sushi is by far the best sushi place I've gone to here, hands down.

Sashimi teishoku set @ Tsukasa (刺身定食@つかさ)
I went here for lunch a few weeks ago. It's a quiet, kinda hidden shop run by an old couple, but there's something about it that is really relaxing and comfortable. And, it's delicious!!! I also ordered their su-namero (I'll describe what namero is below), which was pretty much amazing, and I've been craving to have it again since then.

Mackerel namero teishoku set @ Nakamura (アジのなめろう定食@なかむら)
Namero is a local Kamogawa specialty - basically it's a fish of your choice (in this case, mackerel) minced together with ginger, leek, miso, aojiso leaf, and perhaps a couple of other things and then lumped together to look like a hamburger (if you actually fry namero, it becomes another local specialt called sanga-yaki). Not only do these ingredients all work against food poisoning, they all make for a really healthy food! It's said that namero was thought up by fishermen out at sea, when they needed to make themselves something to eat. Currently, I'm in love with su-namero, which is the above, but soaked in vinegar!

@ Uomasa (@うおまさ)
I can't actually remember what this was specifically called, but it was really good! Uomasa is super popular with locals and with visitors looking to eat good seafood. And all the prices are actually quite reasonable!

@ Funayoshi (@ふなよし)
Urgh don't remember what exactly this was called either, but it was really really good! The sashimi fish was amaaaaaazing.

Whale cutlet @ Hanakanran (くじらカツ@花甘藍)
I imagine that there might be a lot of people put off by the idea of eating whale...but honestly, it's quite good. One of the neighboring towns has a strong whaling industry, and so many of the restaurants here serve a few dishes with whale in it. Whale is actually quite good, and has a texture somewhere between a block of sashimi and a piece of steak.

Iberian pork @ Appetito (イベリコ豚@アペティート)
Also, Kamogawa is home to some of the most amazing French/Italian places I've ever eaten at before, in and out of Japan!!

Kamogawa-grown vegetable salad @ Kasa (鴨川産野菜サラダ@カーサ)
Simple and healthy but oh so good!! I order this every time I go here~.

Uncured ham, mizuna, & potato pizza @ Kasa (生ハムと水菜とじゃがいものピザ@カーサ)
Another must have favorite!!! I couldn't even wait to take the photo before I took a slice. I love Kasa because it literally looks like a rundown shack from the outside, but when you go inside it actually has really nice ambience...and most importantly, the food is delicious!

@ Rosso Bianco (@ロッソビアンコ)
My favorite restaurant in the WORLD. I joke not. If you only have enough time to eat at one place when you visit Kamogawa, I would say here with no hesitation whatsoever. Weird maybe, since it's not Japanese. It's technically French, but for instance this lunch set comes with miso soup, pickled vegetables, and some other side dish (that I never actually figured out what it was, but it's really good). There's just something about the food here....that is mind-blowing. I've taken every single person who has visited me here, and I have yet to find someone who doesn't agree that the place is seriously delicious. And it's totally the same reasonable prices as a family restaurant - about 1,000-1,500 yen (US$10-$15) for a whole meal like this!


There are a bunch more restaurants that I want to introduce, but honestly I have so many food pictures that I have to pick through them and figure out what was taken where. So until next time~!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Some of my favorite places.

Taken at Uomizuka Lookout Point (魚見塚展望台) looking over downtown Kamogawa.

Today I'd like to share some photos of a few of my favorite places here in lovely Kamogawa.

A quiet evening at Maebara Beach.
Less than a 10 minute walk away from my apartment is Maebara Beach (前原海岸). It's a popular surfing spot all year round, and you can also go swimming here during beach season (usually from mid-July to mid-August). I love to take walks along the red paved area on the left side of the photo, which stretches up and down the entire beach.

A pitch black tunnel in the mountains. Where does it lead???
When you emerge from the tunnel, all of the sudden you find yourself overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
This coastal cliff area is called Osenkorogashi (おせんころがし). I particularly love it because you have to drive through a creepy pitch black tunnel (which looks a lot like the tunnel from the movie "Spirited Away") to get here...but when you emerge, you find yourself staring out at one of my favorite views here in Kamogawa!

The fall foliage climbs up the cliffs.
Late autumn, if you go deep into the Kiyosumi Mountains, you'll find the Shiraiwa area, home to these splendidly dramatic cliffs. The way the vivid fall foliage seems to be splashed across the cliffs makes for a brilliant sight.

Oyama Senmaida (大山千枚田) on a summer rainy day.
Terraced Rice Paddy Night Festival at Oyama Senmaida (大山千枚田棚田の夜祭り)
Last photos for today! Oyama Senmaida is perhaps my favorite landmark here in Kamogawa. It's awesome during the day - I love the way the terraced rice paddies curve around the mountainside. But it's even better at night! Every year, around the end of October, there's an event called the Terraced Rice Paddy Night Festival - they make candles from used cooking oil collected from local restaurants/hotels, and then line the all of rice paddies with them! The result is something spectacular<3 I really need to invest in a tripod so that I can finally get some non-blurry photos from this event...

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

行こうさ〜。

First post ever!

The blog title doesn't need much explanation - this blog is dedicated to my random encounters and experiences living in Chiba.

The address itself, "ikosa (行こうさ)," is from the Boshu dialect, usually spoken in the Awa Region of Chiba Prefecture (Tateyama, Kamogawa, Minamiboso, and Kyonan). It's a friendly way of saying, "let's go!!" In standard Japanese, it'd probably come out something like "行くぜ"! I guess.

For the past three years, I've been living in Kamogawa, a small city in southern Chiba. I chose this name to pay tribute to Kamogawa - and all the kindness and generosity that has been shown to me here. I'll be moving to Chiba City in just about a month, but even after that I hope to wander around all areas of Chiba, and share them through this blog!

Rainbow over the newly built Kamogawa Junior High School.