One Week in Chiba: Part 5 ~Chiba Sake Festa 2011 + Makuhari~

And so I return to the chronicle of my parents' visit to Chiba!

On their fifth day here, we had a kicked off our day at a favorite of mine - an organic buffet-style restaurant in Makuhari (Chiba City)!

My second plate! I also got 十穀米ご飯 (jukkokumai gohan, or ten-grain rice) to go with it.

Everything here is fresh and organic, and so you can each as much as you want without feeling guilty! They've got everything from Japanese (including sushi!) to Western foods, a ton of desserts, and even lots of fun drinks! They had regular stuff like coffee and tea, but I really enjoyed the mango vinegar drink.

The place is called "Nanoha" and is located just a 3-4 minute walk from JR Kaihin-Makuhari Station, towards Carrefour Makuhari (now AEON Makuhari)! Lunch is only 1,600 yen per person, which is a total steal...I greatly recommend this place to anyone who's feeling hungry but wants to eat healthy :D

Afterwards, we explored Mitsui Outlet Park Makuhari as we digested lunch. I had no idea that they opened a new building - or has it always been there?? The building with Cecil McBee and other younger people-geared stores.

Anyway...our next stop and the highlight of our day was the Chiba Sake Festa 2011, being held at the conference halls of one of the nearby hotels.

The obligatory photo of the event sign. I think the lady performing is a popular singer, but I have no idea who she is?

Famous sake breweries in Chiba, divided up according to region.

Okay okay, I'll admit I am not a particularly huge sake person. I love my 梅酒 (umeshu, "plum wine"), but up until this event I'd never had more than a sip of nihonshu. Better yet, I had no idea whether or not my parents would like it either. I've only seen my dad have a beer or a glass of wine here and there, and my mother swears that she is allergic to alcohol. But still, I figured this would be pretty cool just to wander around, since it fit perfectly into my parents' visit!

My dad's a total trooper. The three of us had no idea what to do, being our first sake-tasting event, but after 2 seconds watching other people, my dad marched up to the nearest table and demanded (without actually speaking) for a taste of whatever the lady was pouring.

Apparently it had too much kick for his taste tho...:D

Two-thirds of the room were dedicated to sake, but the other one-third was dedicated to local Chiba gourmet, particular snacks and other food that go well with sake!

Some of the food things we tried:

My mum enjoying a sample of yuzu (Japanese citron) miso.

CHIBA ICHI. My dad bought jerky from here and said it was really good, so I'll have to hunt some down at some point!

寿萬亀 (Jumangame), a famous sake made by a brewery in Kamogawa.

While most of the sake samples were free, they had a special corner for the good stuff, where you had to pay for a sample - but the portions were much more generous. My dad and I (my mum was already quite tipsy from everything else we'd had) tried two different kinds, both from 亀田酒造 (Kameda Shuzo), a famous brewery in Kamogawa. Some of their stuff is so high-quality that their sake is offered up during at Harajuku's Meiji Jingu ceremonies.

The Jumangame booth!

The Jumangame had a very nice, smooth flavor. My dad was so satisfied with it that he bought some to take home with him!

My mom got really excited with this place, which not only sold sake, but also sweets using this brewery's sake! We bought some of their umeshu jelly, which was super delicious...though my mom was super disappointed that we couldn't try their roll cake because they were sold out.

While my mom and I were off buying stuff, all of a sudden my Dad got caught up in a conversation with the guy to his left! When I found them, I got confused because I thought my dad somehow ran into an acquaintance...but I think this guy, who turned out to be staff, was just really happy to run into a foreigner??? When he found out I work at the Prefectural Offices, he flagged down these two ladies  from the Chiba Prefecture Tourism Division (who I've had lunch with before!).

Free souvenirs...including a Chiba Sake choko, or sake cup.

After the three of us had gotten quite tipsy, we knew it was time to go home!! We were able to make it home (and into bed) safely...I won't forget some old guy that they had to get three guys to usher out of the hall because he was so drunk.

Anyway, this was a great event!! I had a great time, so I definitely will go the next time I find any similar ones~.