Sawara Grand Autumn Festival.

I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I've been sitting on this post for more than half a year now!

Time slip again - this time to the beginning of October. It was a gorgeous Saturday morning, and I headed up to northern Chiba with some fun company. First we made a quick stop to check out Katori Shrine.

But first, a slight detour at Katori Shrine (香取神宮)! I love the nature here.

Basically, there is an incredible festival called the Sawara Grand Festival (佐原の大祭) held twice a year, once in the summer and the other in the fall. As the title suggests, I went to the autumn festival, but the summer festival is actually coming up this weekend!

Read more about the Sawara Grand Summer Festival here: http://www.pref.chiba.lg.jp/kokusai/english/information/residents/news/issues/july2013.html#f0702

Anyway, here's a peak of the sights you can enjoy at the festival:

Passing under one of many low bridges. Each boat is operated by two people - someone operating the motor, and another (always a woman?) watching for other boats, obstructions, etc.

After our mini stopover at Katori Shrine, we hopped over to our main destination for the day - Sawara, a historical district in Katori City! We went by car, and from there you can hop on a boat into town for just a small fee.

At the festival! Here comes one of the dashi, or festival floats.

Sawara's really serious about its festivals - they even have dashi on the lampposts!

These guys have the important role of steering the dashi with these giant wooden poles...

...especially when they have to navigate super narrow roads and power lines!

I originally took this because of the adorable kid looking all comfy on the dashi...
the random McDonald's bags surprised me when I reviewed the photo later on.

The guys smashing each other to help push the dashi! Looks fun, but also super painful :/

Love these girls' outfits!

Entrance to JR Sawara Station - the main festival venues are about a 10-15 minute walk from here.

It's festival season again!! I am a little skeptical about whether or not I'll be able to go see a festival before I leave Japan, but I hope you will be able to make it out to some!

One week in Chiba (revisited).

The final installment of my adventures with my dear mum (one month later! sorry) in a photo summary. (Almost all of the photos I've used were her photos, so that's why they've got time stamps on them...and the camera was set to San Francisco time.) But hopefully this offers a little more insight into all the different stuff we got to do.

Part 1: Dinner at Syu's Garden Deli (Chiba City)

The appetizer plate...for one person. At least 4 other full plates of food (again per person!)

Super intense BBQ plate of meat, fish, and fresh veggies!

Oh man. This place is just...epic. I have so much praise for this place I donno where to start. We had the "Garden BBQ" course menu - initially, I thought it was a bit pricey at (I think?) 3000 yen/person, but I knew my mom would appreciate the healthy-ish (ish beacause of the sheer amount of food), veggie-centered menu.

Considering that it was all-you-can-drink (including alcoholic drinks) and an eye-popping amount of amazing food, the price was totally worth it! The restaurant staff was also incredibly nice (very accommodating to our rowdy (but in a friendly way?!) group. I'd love to go back again if I get the chance. It's about a 5 minute walk from Parco in Chiba.

Syu's Garden Deli website: http://www.syuplanning.com/

Part 2: Mitsui Outlet Park (MOP) Kisarazu 

Being silly with the random statue/objects placed around the outlet.

My previous post about MOP Kisarazu: http://ikosa.blogspot.jp/2012/04/grand-opening-of-mop-kisarazu.html.

We went on a weekday afternoon after I got off from work - if you're not a big fan of crowds, this is definitely the perfect time to hit up these outlets. There aren't many other shoppers so you can look around as you please.

Part 3: Sea Festa 2013 in Kamogawa

Rain cleared up just as we arrived in Kamogawa...absolutely gorgeous!

The last day of my mom's visit was the only day we didn't have any reservations or appointments...so I gave my mom the choice between Tokyo and Kamogawa (the two places we hadn't been able to fit into the trip). To my surprise and pleasure, she chose Kamogawa of her own free will, because it was noce and relaxing, and she wanted to see people she'd met during her previous visit.

To male things even better, my mom was visiting just in time for Sea Festa, one of my annual traditions! It's a huge, city-wide event, so I knew we had an incredibly high chance of running into everyone we wanted to.

...and we pretty much did exactly that.

This lovely lady took good care of me when I was in Kamogawa!
She's a part of the women's group within the local Chamber of Commerce...they were selling all sorts of fun Kamogawa t-shirts (and of course, I am a proud owner of a number of them!)

Kamogawa Coffee! This coffee here is seriously epic. I don't actually know where they normally do business...their truck just appears at various local events!

Kamogawa grins all over!

We ran into a ton of people and got tons of delicious food and drink!!! My only regret was that I was duped by the cool weather (and morning clouds!) - found myself pretty well roasted and burnt the next day. I suppose it is a smaller price to pay for a rejuvenating day with friends on the beach though!

Also, found these lovelies at Ichihara Service Area on our way back to Chiba City:

Chiba pride!

To the left - peanut flavored cafe au lait. The peanut flavor was really light - rather, it was the intense smell of...peanut shells? That really caught me off guard. Other than that, I suppose the drink was pretty normal. The packaging was really cute!

To the right - the service area carried a huge variety of I love...Chiba-related place names, so I picked up one for Kamogawa and another for Chiba in general, in honor of my two employers. These'll go on that new suitcase I am overdue to purchase for my trip home. Anyway, the stick come in rectangular and circular shapes, there's one for pretty much every city/town in Chiba...in addition to general "Chiba" ones in hiragana, katakana, romaji...and perhaps others?!

CD debut.

(top) Master CD and lyric sheets with notes from the sound engineer
(bottom left) Entrance to the recording studio
(bottom right) View of Funabashi from the studio building

I love singing and karaoke. This is one of the first things people learn about me. I sing everywhere and anywhere. Even to the point where I go to karaoke on my own for hours on end!

During a conference I attended earlier this year, one of the speakers said to thank you and goodbye to all the people who have supported me throughout these years in a meaningful way. Thoughtful and significant.

A number of people I've met here have told me they would totally go for my CD if I ever made one. Figuring that it would make the perfect thank you gift, I decided to make it happen!

Recording booth...just seeing this photo makes me want to go again!

That said, I had no idea how to go about doing so. After doing all sorts of research on the Internets, I knew I wanted to try recording in an actual studio...and eventually came across the establishment I wound up choosing, RBC's! Not only was it reasonable despite including sound adjustments and direction, but it was super close. The studio is just about a 20 minute ride by train, and located pretty much right next JR Tsudanuma Station. Perfect.

It's a small, homemade studio tucked into what seems like an apartment building (but all the other rooms on the same floor also seem to be occupied by various businesses). It was fantastic though - and I am really happy with the end product!

The spectacular sound engineer, Tamaki-san, hard at work!

I had no idea what I was going into when I walk through the door, but Tamaki-san, the guy who runs the place, was incredibly helpful and great about walking me through the process. I recorded 3 songs over 5 hours (you can rent out the studio on an hourly basis).

If you're recording vocals like I did, you bring in the instrumentals for your songs, as well as copies of your lyrics. Tamaki-san will even provide a little advice on singing/expression - I was just a breath off in my timing for one of my songs, so he pointed that out to me and we fixed it. :)

Anyway, we record one song at a time - usually singing 2-3 "full cuts." Then Tamaki-san will put together the best parts of the cuts, and we can record individual parts if necessary.

After all the songs are complete, there's a little adjustment here and there...and voila! We actually got done earlier than the 5 hour mark, so we spent awhile chatting about random stuff - like how Tamaki-san is from Okinawa (in addition to his sound engineer job, he also does Okinawan music performances here and there!).

He's very professional and thorough, but Tamaki-san is also incredibly easy to work with so that you can relax and create your music just as you imagined it.

And just as he told me - "レコーディングは癖になる,"  or "Recording's addicting"! I think he's right. I wish I'd known about his place sooner - but perhaps the next time I come to Japan, I'll drop by for fun (and maybe record another song while I'm at it?!).

RBC's Funabashi studio official site: http://homepage3.nifty.com/rbc/

Popcorn blowout.

Spring Voyage 2013 decorations! (Loving the ribbon Minnie and necktie Mickey shrubs!)

Our mother-daughter adventure at the Tokyo Disney Resort continued into the next day, when we tackled the Tokyo Disney Sea theme park!

Early park admission (my mother forgot to change the date/time settings on her camera...but insists on the time stamp)

Like I mentioned in my previous post, guests of the Tokyo Disney Sea Hotel Miracosta get 20 minute early admission into the park! I don't think rides aren't in operation just yet, but this gives guests a head start on both admission and/or FastPass lines. We went straight to the Toy Story Mania FastPass line, since it's so popular that on weekends, apparently the wait can go up to 5 hours o_O

It's like a zombie invasion o_O

Sure enough, with along with the 9:00am opening of the park came a massive wave of running people trying to get to the most popular attractions as quickly as possible! It was actually kind of terrifying to see that many people coming at you at once. But luckily we were already safely tucked in line. Even with the early start - and on a weekday for that matter! Our FastPasses weren't for until almost 12noon.

Japan is super hardcore about its Disney...

Subtle but adorable spring-themed decorations!

Thankfully, other than the early morning insanity and typhoon-like winds, my mother and I enjoyed a pretty laid back trip to Disney Sea! And I think that's the very beauty of this unique park (since it's the only Disney theme park of its kind) - it has a much calmer, mature feel to it than say - Disney Land (which I think is more for when you're looking to ride as many attractions as possible!).

Set of 4 windows in the middle is where our room was!

The wind really was taking a toll on us, so instead we went hunting for our hotel room. Sure enough, we found it on the Venetian side - pretty sweet!

Duffy/Shellie Mae photo op!

I'd only been to Disney Sea once before, but I don't think I realized that these spots existed! They're all over the park. Perfect for those hardcore Disney fans - the ones carrying the multiple Duffy teddy bears. I can only say that Tokyo Disney's marketing strategies are absolutely fantastic...and they've gotten me quite well too.

Not one, not two - but three different types of popcorn!

Today's post title comes from this collage - instead of eating a proper meal, my mother and I got too excited about the different varieties of flavored popcorn available! Many of the flavors are only available at either Disney Sea or Disney Land...so we took advantage and got all of the sweet, Disney Sea-only popcorn flavors: (from top right, clockwise)
1) Strawberry...as well as the Spring Voyage 2013 limited edition popcorn box, which comes with a mini box for your Duffy teddy bear!
2) Milk tea, which sounds gross but is surprisingly amazing
3) Apple cinnamon, which I was crushed to find out replaced the cranberry-flavored popcorn...but was quite good as well!

Hotel Miracosta entrance directly in/out of the park.

Halfway through, we took a break to refresh and also check out of the hotel - check-out is generously late, at 12noon! Also as I mentioned in my previous post, the bell service will hold your luggage even after you've checked out - as late as 10:00pm (which is park closing). Not to mention, if you drove like I did, the parking you've already paid for lasts until 12 midnight.

I must say though, it doesn't seem like you actually have to be staying at the hotel to go in and out of this entrance! I suppose it's because non-guests can still dine at the in-hotel restaurants/lounges. We didn't, but like much of the hotel, these places have fantastic views of Disney Sea.

Thank you for a wonderful day!!

We wound up cutting our day short because we were too battered from the relentless winds - apparently the one thing to watch out for trips to Disney Sea - but we were incredibly satisfied nonetheless!

Please stay in tune for the final installment of my mother's visit to lovely Chiba~.

Just one night. (@Tokyo Disney Sea Hotel Miracosta!)

So at the end of May, my mother came to visit. As a part of our late Mother's Day celebration, I arranged for a stay at the wondrous Tokyo DisneySea Hotel Miracosta!

Our room keys. Each guest gets their own - to keep! Also, straight lines are hard to draw on a trackpad...

My family has gone to the Disney Resorts in Florida and California a handful of times when I was growing up. We've stayed at a handful of the Disney hotels, and when I was studying abroad in Tokyo, my parents and I even spent a few nights at the Tokyo Disney Ambassador Hotel. I was pretty confident I knew what it was like staying at a Disney hotel.

But the Hotel Miracosta rocked my socks off.

When I talked about how much I liked Disney, people here would almost automatically respond that I needed to spend a night here. But all I really knew was that the Hotel Miracosta is so popular that it's nearly impossible to book...supposedly you need to book over a year in advance - well, if you're trying to book directly. I hadn't planned that far in advance, but I barely managed to find an opening through a travel agency. Aside from the suites, Miracosta's rates (and availability!) depends strongly on which view you are booking - but I'll get into that a bit later in this post.

I was pretty skeptical with all the hype, but despite the lofty price tag, it was totally worth it. I'd so do it again.

Hotel lobby!

Land of dreams for sure! Cast members in the entrance area will enthusiastically approach you to see if you need help with your luggage. If you come around check-in time, the lobby will be overflowing with people waiting - not too long at all! - to be shown to their room by a cast member. The Miracosta has all the best parts of Japanese and Disney service combined.

Studiously checking out the hotel info channel.

Maybe because I only really stay at business hotels in Japan, but the sheer size of the room really impressed me. I guess it is the size of a standard hotel room back home though - I guess I mostly only stay at business hotels here in Japan, where the rooms are about the size of a closet ;D

Being silly in the powder room.

View from our room!

I touched upon this at the beginning of the post, but room availability and rates depend strongly on which side of the hotel you're trying to book. For standard rooms, there are three views are available (in the order of price/difficulty to book): the Porto Pallazzo side, the Venetian side, and the Toscana side. We were on the Venetian side, which offered a partial (but still gorgeous!) view into Disney Sea. Porto Pallazzo is by far the most popular side because it offers a full view into the park...someday I will stay in one of those rooms!!

Out front the hotel! (Also, yes my sweatshirt is insane and that's why I love it!)

Guests of Tokyo Disney Resort get to enjoy all sorts of perks during their stay, like an unlimited pass for the Tokyo Disney Resort monorail during the duration of your stay, and early entry into the Tokyo Disney Land or Sea (available on the day of your check out as well)! Even cooler is that (1) if you purchase anything from the shops within the resort, they can deliver it directly to your hotel bell service - fantastic considering how much omiyage people buy here in Japan! and (2) even if you're only staying one night, like I did, you can check out and they'll hold your luggage until late that evening (10pm, I think?)!

Wandering the Tokyo Disney Resort.

After settling into our room, my mother and I decided to take advantage of our monorail pass to go wandering around the resort. We took a lovely ride to the JR Maihama Station area, which is connected directly to the Ikspiari shopping mall and Tokyo Disney Ambassador Hotel!

Random shots as we wandered the Tokyo Disney Resort (counterclockwise, from the top left):
(1) Awesome giant map painting of Tokyo Disney Sea, located right by the Hotel Miracosta entrance to the park
(2) Ceiling mural at the newly renovated Ambassador Hotel - where my parents and I stayed 6 years ago!
(3) Giant cookie art (Happy 30th Anniversary, TDR!) the bakery inside the Ambassador Hotel.
(4) Mickey grabby things inside the monorail car!
(5) My mom being boss inside the Ambassador Hotel lobby
(6) One of my new favorite cafes - the epic nana's green tea, located on the ground floor of Ikspiari!

Retracing our steps from 7 years ago!

Next post...mother-daughter date at Tokyo Disney Sea!