Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Welcome summer.

Just wanted to share some photos I took when visiting Tateyama a bit back.

Hojo Beach (北条海岸) is looking good!
In the opposite direction.
Frolicking in the waves.
After our random stopover playing at the beach, we hit up Bad Ass Coffee! I knew about the one in Makuhari, Chiba City, but I used to drive through this area all the time and never knew it existed until I saw a friend's facebook post...thanks Ebony!

<3 Bad Ass Coffee.
Delicious cold juice and coffee, perfect for the summer!
In this area, there aren't a lot of good cafes, so you can be pretty hard pressed to find a place with a decent selection...but Bad Ass has a bunch! I can't remember what kind of juice this was (it might be orange, but I am sure they at least had guava, maybe passion fruit? and a couple other things). I got the coffee of the day, which was chocolate raspberry or something - the fragrance was fantastic, and it went really well with our snack:

Perfect pancakes - just slightly crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside!
Another great thing about this place - they don't charge you an arm and a leg for everything! I swear other places would charge at least 1000 yen for the pancakes and a drink, but here I think it's only 650 yen. Can't wait to find another reason to go again...:D

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Shirahama Ama Festival (白浜海女まつり).

Shirahama's Nojimazaki Lighthouse in the distance.
Yet another adventure began on a surprisingly cool evening in the southernmost tip of the Boso Peninsula - near the Nojimazaki Lighthouse in the Shirahama district of Minamiboso City.

The highlight of the show! The ama swimming performance.
I had heard of this event a number of times before and always wanted to go, but never had the chance. This festival is held in honor of ama (海女), to encourage the continuation of ama tradition, and to pray for the safety and success of those involved in the fishing industry.

Ama lady breaking it down...dancing the Shirahama Ondo, a traditional local folk dance
Ama are female divers who traditionally gather pearls...I may be wrong, but in the southern Chiba area I believe they gathered seaweed, shellfish, and the like.

Ama on standby before the swimming performance.
This isn't a very clear photo, but you can kind of see their uniforms! In the wiki link I posted above, the article mentioned originally they only wore loincloths. This is the modern version, I suppose.  I remember there was a restaurant in Kamogawa I went to, and they had a giant picture of an ama on the wall as decoration. It was nice, but it looked like she had just come back from a dive, and apparently they don't wear anything underneath these...

Fireworks + ama!
Getting back to the festival though, during the swimming performance they shoot off a bunch of fireworks, including the awesome 水中花火 kind! (I am still trying to figure out if they actually explode in the water, as their name seems to imply, or if they explode on the surface of the water...) They were so close that burnt paper flew into our faces...it was very windy that day too though.

Delicious grilled CORN!
Backtracking though, I must admit that (as usual) part of the reason I was lured out here was for the delicious food! A friend had gone the day before, and information about all the amazing food that awaited me renewed my resolve to go! This lovely corn was bought from a local farmer called Ansai Nouen (安西農園). I had actually bought from them at a totally different event a year (or two years?) ago, but they totally remembered my friend and me! And they were super nice!

Satomi pork (里見和豚), a local brand of pork, seasoned with rosemary. Mmmm....
My main target was Odori Kitchen, which I visited a couple months back! They only had a couple items, but everything was amazing....even their edamame seemed to be special! Their chef works magic...

Lovely Shirahama evening.
I'll admit, Shirahama is pretty far...even if you already live in Chiba. But it's so lovely, and has so much great food - it's totally worth the trip!!! The Shirahama Ama Festival is only held once a year, but here are a couple sites if you're looking for more information (both are in Japanese though, sorry):


http://www.mboso-etoko.jp/shirahama/event/amamatsuri.html
(More photos and details about the ama swimming performance)


http://www.chibanippo.co.jp/c/siteseeing/2012/07/88110
(Better description of the Ama Festival overall)

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Everyday should be Disney day!

I love amusement parks!!! Something about them takes me back to being a little kid and I laugh like a maniac on roller coasters.

Despite my intense love for theme parks of all kinds and having gone to Tokyo Disney Land five times over the course of a single year, I still hadn't managed to go to Tokyo Disney Sea for the entire four years I've been here (five if you add in my time as an exchange student).

Long awaited Tokyo Disney Sea!!!
While I recognized a lot of the rides from other Disney parks, Tokyo Disney Sea is one of a kind. For years, I had heard how pretty it is, and TDS definitely did not disappoint!

Duffy and Shellie May (shortly after renamed Yorrick and Ophelia) enjoying the scenery.
It got intensely hot and bright! But even more gorgeous!
Mermaid Lagoon!!! Althought it is under renovation...:(
We had only heard about prettiness, and that there wasn't much to ride....certainly, there aren't as many rides as Disney Land, but more than enough to keep you occupied for a day!

Playground area inside Mermaid Lagoon. I didn't actually go in, so I will have to go an explore another time!


Trying to recreate Kicchan's face in the photo...a perfect rectangle!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the Tower of Terror. But we are not going crazy and the "Tower of Terror" story is totally based on the whole Twilight Zone thing right??? Because the TDS Tower of Terror had some weird voodoo doll story....not that it changes the ride itself in anyway, but it was just strange.

I don't have photos, but other awesome rides were the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (does this exist in any of the US Disney parks? I don't remember it at all, but it was a very Peter Pan-esque ride), Journey to the Center of the Earth (intensely fun but super short!), Sindbad's Storybook Voyage (like It's a Small World...including the crazily catchy song part!), and Indie Jones (so nostalgic!!).

Inside the brand new Toy Story Mania! attraction.
One thing I am still unsure of...supposedly the Toy Story Mania! attraction didn't open until the 9th of July, but we totally went on the 3rd and got to ride it like it had always been there. Since it seemed so normal, I just assumed this was an old ride and there was a new one somewhere else, but afterwards I kept seeing footage on the news and commercials on TV, and it was totally the same ride we went on! I guess we were guinea pigs?

Cranberry popcorn!!!
Disney food is usually quite good, and the Tokyo Disney resorts seem to take this to a different level. Tokyo Disney is really big on their popcorns! I had never realized the flavors sold at TDL are different from those sold at TDS. Disney Sea had CRANBERRY! and MILK TEA! flavored popcorn, and both were mindblowing! I would literally go back just to get some more popcorn.

This Cruella de Vil was AMAZING.
I also never realized they have villain characters around too! The lady playing Cruella was really fantastic, she kept petting anything people had that was remotely fur-like and saying really creepy things in English! I hope I run into her again sometime.

The Legend of Mythica show at the Mediterranean Harbor!
As usual, Tokyo Disney resort shows are made to impress! Since this show is performed on the water, they use giant boats with lots of fun decorations and effects!

Jet ski performers zooming into place! So cool.
The show takes advantage of all the wide space to do awesome tricks like these kite maneuvers.
More TDS pretty scenery!!!
Sorry for the horribly messy post, but I figure Disney parks are pretty self explanatory! However, if you are a fan of theme parks and/or Disney, I definitely recommend Disney Sea. While most of the rides already exist at other Disney parks, I don't think any of the other parks are quite as "scenic" as this one. It's also really chill, so you can enjoy a more leisurely, mature trip to Disney :D

My next mission is to potentially stay at the Hotel Miracosta and watch the harbor show from the room balcony!!!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Blueberry picking at Nagasa Blueberry Hills.

Lovely Kamogawa, I miss you every time I'm away!
My next adventure found me on a gorgeous day in the countryside! I do love Kamogawa's ocean views, the hilly farm land is stunning too!

Tada! Welcome to Nagasa Blueberry Hills!
I came here for blueberry picking about 2 years ago - nothing beats fruit fresh off the trees! I wanted to come back last year, but was busy getting ready to move. Blueberry season is generally from mid-June to the end of August, and I definitely wasn't gonna miss my chance this year!

Aside myself with excitement, I totally forgot to take photos of this part - but go into the little house (to the left of the bright green sign in the photo above), which is the reception for blueberry picking. There you can either choose all-you-can-eat blueberries (食べ放題) for 30 minutes, or pick and pay by weight (摘み取り). We chose the latter! My master plan was to pick a bunch and immediately throw them into the freezer, since in my head gross summer humidity + frozen blueberries make life a little happier!

We were handed our baskets, and off to the blueberry house we went~
Also on a random note, the older guy at reception (whom I assume is the owner, since he was there when I came two years ago when the business was just starting out) has reaaaaally really good English! Like really! He was the nicest, sweetest old guy ever.

Blueberry hunting!!
Blueberry picking is well...pretty self explanatory. It doesn't take much effort other than plucking nice big, blue berries off the bush (and perhaps trying to avoid bugs and spiderwebs). Right now is still relatively early in the season, but if you go later on in July, it can get really HOT so just make sure you come prepared for the heat!

Since there isn't much to show actually picking, here are some wannabe artsy photos of the blueberries:

So pretty! And more importantly, so delicious!

Finally, after 30 minutes or so, I think we managed to get a decent amount!

Of course, it looks like we picked nothing...but the blueberries are all hiding at the bottom where you can't see them, I swear!
As we strolled back to the reception, we also enjoyed the lovely garden surrounding the blueberry houses:


Spot the butterfly!
They also make blueberry sherbet here! I didn't have it this time around, but it's reaaaaaally good stuff.
Boxed up and ready to go!
Bring your basket back to reception, where they'll weigh and box your pick while you enjoy sherbet (should you choose) and complimentary tea outside! I paid about 1000 yen (500 yen for admission, so 500 yen for the blueberries...and I think I picked 250-300g).


And in closing, I think these are the rabbit eye blueberries pictured on the Blueberry Hills website! They are blueberries, but they are pink/red! I was actually really really really hoping to try these, but it turns out that they won't be ripe for picking until later on in the season...I guess I will just have to make a second trip! :D

Nagasa Blueberry Hills website:
http://www15.plala.or.jp/nagasa-b-b/