Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Mini roadtrip in Minamiboso.

In a very spur of the moment mood swing (and also because I hadn't driven my car for over one week), I decided to go driving around Minamiboso City. 

It was partially to do research for work, partially because I have had an insatiable itch for adventure lately...and I only felt more encouraged by the lovely weather. After an easy 1 hour 20 minute drive straight down the expressway, and I was back in the inaka (and I really do miss it)!

Lots of random Chiba tourist pamphlets/magazines/books.
With no particular goal in mind, the roadtrip turned into a mission to explore the area Michi-no-eki, which I guess equate to rest areas, except that they are often equipped with stores, restaurants, and other random attractions.

First stop was Nanbo Paradise in Tateyama! Someday I wanna climb the tower thing in the back.
Lots of random soft serve ice cream flavors!!
 I got dragonfruit-flavored soft serve, because I had seen it in a guidebook and the poisonous purple color strongly attracted me. It tasted like vanilla.

Maybe not so good?
Kicchan is an adventurer and got durian-flavored soft serve. It tastes exactly like cold, raw onions. I kid you not. Or better yet, if you don't believe me, I encourage you to try it out.


There wasn't much of anything here at the Shirahama-Nojimazaki rest area, but it is super close to the awesome Shirahama coastline. I wish I had pictures to show, but I was driving - perhaps I'll go back another day to take a stroll along the coast.


This rest area itself had a bunch of greenhouses around it, so maybe they do a lot of flower-related stuff in the spring and what not?

I was able to catch the last of this year's sunflowers though.
Last stop of the day!
Finally, Shiokaze Oukoku (I don't actually know the official romanization for it??), which is Chikura, Minamiboso City. I'd always heard about how awesome this place was, but it was my first time actually visiting it. I want to randomly wander around it more (especially around that wonderful looking ship-thing to the right)!

BRILLIANT.
Okay, let me be more honest with myself. 80% of this sudden mini roadtrip was because after seeing this thing in the guidebook, I felt compelled to come see it with my own eyes. I still have no idea what this character/thing is supposed to be, but it's freaking BRILLIANT. I love it <3

Omiyage from Shiokaze Oukoku!
And so I end with this - just looking at these makes me really happy! I shouldn't be spoiling this (they are meant to be omiyage for other people...), but these things are too wonderful NOT to share with the whole world.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Wilderness survival again.

Went fishing for ayu again this past weekend. I dared to take my camera with me (and used a plastic bag to help me keep it safe) so this time, I'll let the photos do all the talking!

Fishing spot for the day! It was another intensely hot day...
But wading through the river kept us nice and cool!
アメンボ (water striders) all over the place!
Stalking the fish....
I caught one!!! I managed to catch four, which is my record high (but still pathetic since the others caught about 10 fish each).
My super awesome friend, Nami-chan! It is only her second time, but she's managed to catch at least 15 fish both times. We all decided she has some sort of innate talent, perhaps because she was a fisherman in her previous life or something.
The guy to the right is pulling the giant net we use to trap the fish before catching them with our hands~!
Our haul for the day!
Last but not least, the tradition of splitting the catch - one fish at a time!
Of course, I still had a two hour drive home in the intense heat so I chose not to have any fish, but it was totally worth it - for the experience AND to stay cool! Hope you all enjoyed the photos~.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Kamogawa Finale.

Last week saw the end of my gig in Kamogawa.

This post is dedicated to my last few weeks in Kamogawa, and all the random fun I had with all the wonderful people I've gotten to know over my three years living there.

Went for a half round of golf! Shh...we won't talk about how I fared that day, but the weather was lovely!
Kamogawa City Hall 3F 女子会!
Huge bouquet + crazy stuffed animal thing with farewell messages from City Hall people written all over it.
Giant parfait!!! This thing was literally at least 2 feet tall.

I had no place to stay for my last couple nights in Kamogawa, so my boss put me up in the Kamogawa Grand Tower, one of the nicest hotels in town! I had this entire condo to myself o_O





Receiving a certificate of recognition from the mayor of Kamogawa. It's a little embarrassing, but I was thankful.
Three candles, three years @ welcome/farewell party at Rosso Bianco <3
A bunch of my coworkers and I ordered hiyashi-tantanmen for lunch in celebration of my last day in Kamogawa! It was supposed to be super spicy, but I think too many people ordered it - we figure that the restaurant must have run out of spice.
Ran into some friends at the Amatsu local festival!
Kamogawa City Hall <3
This last photo was actually taken waaaaay back, but it's the best photo I've got of my first full-time workplace...you really taught me tons!!! Thank you for everything <3

That said, I may not live in Kamogawa anymore, but I'll still be going back pretty often to meet with people, join events, etc. Of course, now that I've moved further up north, I hope to visit other places/events and post about them here~.