Hijiki chicken burger?!

What's this?! The package reads that this burger can only be purchased at this store.

Yes...a hijiki chicken burger!

I have this obsession for 限定 or "limited edition" stuff, particularly when it comes to foods. And Japan has this everywhere! Season-limited foods, region-limited foods, you name it. When I came upon this bad boy, I just knew I had to try it.

See the black things poking out of the top of the lettuce? There's your hijiki :)

This burger can only purchased at the Lotteria inside Ichihara Service Area (市原SA(下り)), located along the Tateyama Expressway headed south towards Kisarazu/Tateyama/Kamogawa, etc. It was pretty good - I had it when my parents were visiting, and I think my dad enjoyed it so much he actually ate most of it.

Next time you've got plans to head down to southern Chiba by car, don't forget to save space in your stomach for the hijiki chicken burger!

Perks to living in the countryside.

A kabocha squash and figs I scored for super cheap!!!

Okay, I don't actually live in the countryside anymore. But it had its perks, one such being the fresh produce. You could get a ton of fresh fruits and vegetable for super cheap, and they taste so much better then stuff you'll find at most supermarkets in the city (unless you're ready to pay an arm and a leg for the better stuff).

And not just produce, but they have a lot of fun, unique products made from these fruits/vegetables, etc. and it's a lot of fun to discover unique foods and try them out!

This is a luxury I miss dearly, so every time I make a trip out of the city, I make sure to stop at a produce stand/farmer's market (直売所) and stock up.

Some stuff I scored when I went to the Night Festival at Oyama Senmaida the other night:

Homemade juices!! (left) yuzu, (right) blueberry!

Okay, so these aren't actually produce...but they are natural and homemade! I had the yuzu and it was absolutely amazing...they're made by a company in Kamogawa, so I plan to buy some more the next time I find them.

Kamogawa Shichiri edamame!!!

Kamogawa Shichiri (鴨川七里) edamame is an upcoming brand of edamame that they're starting to promote in Kamogawa. I won't pretend I know everything about them, but apparently this specific type of edamame is unique to Kamogawa, and what makes it so special is its aroma!! If you've ever had edamame before, just imagine the taste of edamame multiplied by 50!!! Less the taste itself, but more like as you are chewing on it the aroma kinda...spreads through your mouth?

Hmm...I feel like the more I try to describe it, the creepier it sounds. In any case, I promise it's really delicious! I managed to grab two of these packs to take home with me, but unfortunately the harvest period is only about 2 weeks from late October...meaning they may have already finished for the season, but you may still be able to find them on sale at Kamogawa's Minnami no Sato!

Nagasa-mai rice (front) and fox face plant (back)

I admit this at risk of sounding like a total priss, but I make a point of buying my rice at one of these farmer's market places. I once made the mistake of buying rice from a regular supermarket, and it was just...so gross. I felt like I was chewing on dirt or something. I think it had something to do with the quality/how old the rice had gotten? I donno, but I was traumatized after eating that rice for a couple months (I had a good mind to throw it all out, even though that would have been a total waste.) Since then I always eat rice bought from a farmer's market, etc., and I have never regretted it since. It really does make a world's difference!

Anyway, this particular rice is Nagasa-mai (長狭米) - named after the area of Kamogawa it was grown in. This bag also has the "Chiba Eco-Produce" mark on it, signifying that this item was made with less than half of the maximum (as designated by the prefecture) for pesticides and other agricultural chemicals. I never thought about this stuff until I came across it at work...you learn something new everyday!


Also, the weird-looking plant branch in the back is called "Fox Face" because...it looks like a fox! I guess it might be a little difficult to tell here - the yellow/orange fruit really does look a fox if you look down at it from above. I don't think it's edible though. An acquaintance of mine from Minnami no Sato gave it to me for free and said it was for decoration.

Other random deliciousness I have enjoyed recently:

Pickled nanohana!

Nanohana is Chiba Prefecture's flower, and makes also a really delicious vegetable (it's a flower, can you call it a vegetable??) I'll probably go pick nanohana for food again when it blooms in February/March, but recently I found this item at a produce stand in Futtsu! It is nanohana pickled in a soy sauce-based mixture, so it has just the right balance of sweet and salty.

(left) Sweet potato and (right) purple yam

This, plus a tomato, was my prize after helping record a promotional video for Chiba Prefecture! There was a huge basket of fresh vegetables set in front of the governor during his video message...when it was all over, they split it up amongst everyone who helped out.


I'd never gotten a purple yam in its original form before (only seen it as powder, ube dessert, bubble tea, etc.) so I was kinda at a loss in terms of what to do with it, but a quick google search found me a recipe for 紫芋炊き込みご飯. Basically you cut the yam into little cubes, place it on top of a pot of rice ready to steam, add a little vinegar (just to bring out the color), hit the switch...and viola! You have purple yam rice, nice and steamy. It makes your meals very happy and colorful! It was amazingly simple so if I ever get my hands on some purple yam again, I will most likely make the same thing again~.


Fresh produce + cooking is one of my obsessions, so there will likely be more posts like this in the future...yay for good food!

One Week in Chiba: Part 6 ~Traditional Japan~

??!! What's going on here???

?! Okay let's backtrack a little.

The next day of our travels led us to the Boso-no-Mura Open Air Museum in Sakae Town, northern Chiba. I had visited the museum a couple weeks before for work with the CHI-BA+KUN Ambassadors (now that I think about it, I haven't managed to post about that either *sigh*!). After my visit, I thought it might be a nice place to take my parents, and it seems like it was at the top of their list in terms of fun things to do!

On the way to becoming a samurai!

My main goal for coming here was this "workshop"...or specifically two of them, where one of the museum staff helps you wear a feudal lord's armor or a princess's outfit. I signed up my dad for the armor, and my mum for the princess outfit.

Pretty princess!!!

Admission to the museum is only 300 yen for adults, and there's a TON of stuff to see inside. And this workshop/experience is only 200 yen per person! Super cheap, and my parents had SO much fun. The description says it takes 20 minutes, but the museum staff let us walk around and take photos...and a lot of other museum guests randomly took photos too! You can make reservations by calling in advance, or you can come sign up then and there - but calling in advance guarantees you get the time slot you want.

Anyway, more fun for our photo shoot:

The lord and his wife.

The lord/bodyguard protecting the princess from the enemy!!! (The "enemy" is not some random guy...he is actually one of the friends who showed us around that day. He was really into his role though...)

Here my mom is making a monaka, which is either ice cream or red bean paste sandwiched in a crunchy shell. Mmm!

On a separate note, Boso-no-Mura offers TONS of hands-on experience things. There is so much to do I haven't managed to fully explore the museum yet!! Need to go back again sometime~.

We also had a very delicious bento lunch at Komorebi, a restaurant right across the entrance to Boso-no-Mura. This sparked a discussion over how balanced Japanese meals were, and how to possibly recreate such meals back home in the U.S. - my dad fell in love with the food here, and is gonna try to give up his fast food lunches!!

Another totally random photo, but I am really curious about this red plant, which we found as we strolled around the museum. Can someone help me identify it? It looks like it has the same texture as a broom...

Narita Shinshoji Temple!

We also spent some of the day wandering around Narita Shinshoji Temple and its approach (参道).  It might not be as big of an area, but here, you can still enjoy the same classic Japan that you would in say, Kyoto or Asakusa. I'm kinda sad that this place isn't more well known - I must confess I didn't know of it until I visited it for work recently.

Cyclists stopping in front of a ryokan, perhaps to rest up for the night.

Kinda off topic, but as we were walking around town we stumbled on these cyclists, who were participants in Tour de Chiba 2011. Tour de Chiba is an annual cycling event where participants bike across/around Chiba! Depending on how hardcore the cyclist is, s/he can choose from 6 different courses, varying from distance and taking 1-3 days.

Various flavors of marshmellows! They were super delicious.

Hmm...a not-so-better view of the townscape. You can see Shinshoji Temple in the distance though!!

The Shinshoji Temple area is really gorgeous if you are looking for a quiet, calm place to wander and stroll around. And so many delicious foods too!!! There is a cafe with a mochi waffle that I have been eyeing for ages...I'll have to go back to try that at some point. So much exploring to do, so little free time!

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~.

3000 Lights at the Oyama Senmaida.

Sorry for the finger in the way. :/

 Happy November!!!

This past Sunday saw me back in Kamogawa (again), and at my favoritest event of the year!

The 棚田の夜祭り (Tanada no Yomatsuri, "Night Festival at the Terraced Rice Paddies") is held every year at the end of October/beginning of November at the Oyama Senmaida.

Need I say anything more? It's romance and nature together at it's best.

The Senmaida during the day.

Each light is a 松明 (taimatsu, or bamboo torch...can anyone tell me why the kanji are read like this???). The candle part is made of recycled oil from local restaurants, etc., so it's environment friendly too!

This event has just three days left!

The Tanada no Yomatsuri will be held from 4:30pm-8:00pm from November 4-6, perfect if you're looking for something to do during the holiday weekend!

Cars aren't allowed directly into the Senmaida during the event, but there are shuttle buses running from either Awa-Kamogawa Station (for those coming by train/highway bus) or Minnami no Sato (for those coming by car).

Sign at Minnami no Sato.

Just buy a ticket postcard (the same one as the first photo of this post!) for just 500 yen. This counts as admission/round-trip shuttle bus fare, and it comes with two 100 yen coupons that can be used at Minnami no Sato or the booths at Senmaida.

More information here: http://www.kamonavi.jp/ja/tanada/ (Japanese)

Ahh~ I can't wait to go again!!!