Finale to a fabulous 5.

Kind of unintentionally - but this post will be the final entry of this blog. As I write this, I've completed an incredible, unforgettable 5 years working and living in Chiba Prefecture - and I've returned to my home country of the U.S.

I just wanted to share shots from my hectic last few weeks in Chiba (and Japan) - but the little joys within them that make me want to go visit again as soon as I can.

Boxes, boxes, and more boxes.

Yep. This is my car trunk (with the rear seats folded down) loaded up with stuff to ship back home. Thankfully, the people at the post office in Chibaminato were incredibly helpful - not to mention it's one of only three post offices in the prefecture were you can send out books, etc. for a slightly discounted rate! (The other two locations are in Narashino and Narita Airport.)

I wound up spending over $700 on shipping...yikes, moving really is no joke.

Love these handwritten messages at Starbucks! So sweet.

Towards the end of my time in Japan, busyness escalated so much that between moving, work, and catching up with friends - the only free "times" I had was early morning. This photo is from when I met up with a friend at 6:30am because that was the only time our schedules were open (she was moving back to the US too, and running a schedule probably even worse than mine).

More early morning pick-ups.

For the last 2 months, I was probably averaging 2-3 hours of sleep per night. Towards the end, I was terrified I might get into a car accident or something - like this morning, when I had to leave Kamogawa at 6am to get back to Chiba City for more appointments. This taco meat sandwich was absolutely epic...and the 10 minutes of shut-eye I got really helped!

Dinner in Kamogawa - one of my all-time favorites: kinmedai no nitsuke (golden eye snapper boiled in Japanese seasonings)

When will I see you again...? Kamogawa's lovely Maebara Beach.

In between all the running around too though, I got to spend some quality time with friends - and even managed to actually do a lot of those plans we'd talked about but never gotten around to doing.

Seriously one of the coolest hotels ever...and for such a steal!

One such instance was going to Tokyo Disney Sea with a bunch of friends from work...and then staying at the Brighton Hotel in Shinurayasu, just one station away from Maihama (where the Tokyo Disney Resort is located).

There were 5 of us - so we stayed in the loft room - gorgeous, with a fantastic view, right next to the station...and super spacious! Ugh I wish I could live there.

Best of all, it was only 5,000 yen per person for the night...including breakfast! This is unthinkable considering the class of the hotel. You'll pay a minimum 7,000 yen per night for a cramped room in a business hotel around this area - and perhaps more if you try to add breakfast. On a final note - their breakfast had a huge variety of food and drink to choose from - we definitely got a great deal on this one.

I will definitely want to stay at the Brighton again.

Happy 30th anniversary!

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Disney Resort! So just two days after I went to Disney Sea, I also went to Disney Land...the day ended in crazy rain, but we had a fantastic time nonethelss :)

But perhaps no place is better than a place you can call "home."

But I must say...one of the most touching experiences was a friend allowing me to stay with her for my last week in Japan. Not only have I never done a proper homestay lasting for more than 1 night - it was so kind of her to let me into her home and stay with her family. Pictured above is from our temaki (hand-wrapped sushi) party on my last night...unbelievable to many, but my first time doing such a thing! (Just realized I took the photo before the main fillings and seaweed actually were added to the table though, whoops.) I'd love to try it over here in the States.

I know this is a super jumbled post - but my 5 years in Chiba were such a hodgepodge of experiences, I don't think I can possibly present it in an organized way while giving it due justice.

So to try to sum things up...

...thank you for an incredible five years!!

Paint it BLACK.

The Kawasaki Memorial DIC Museum of Art, revisited!

Last year I went came here to see a splendid, bright, and beautiful exhibit called FLOWERSCAPES. This time, the exhibition has a seemingly simple but craftily profound focus: the color black.

Love the ticket design.

Of course, I couldn't take photos inside the museum...so you'll just have to see for yourself!
The museum has a very detailed introduction to the exhibit on their website here:
http://kawamura-museum.dic.co.jp/en/exhibition/index.html

We round up having to rush a bit at the end, as we'd gone in the afternoon and closing time (which fyi, is 17:00 for those of you who want to take your time looking around) had crept up on us before we knew it!

Everything was - as always is with the Kawamura Museum of Art - fantastic. I won't even pretend to be able to "discuss" art, but I definitely know what resonates with me. I loved both Louise Nevelson's works (I was dreaming about which of her pieces I would like in my home) and Ad Reinhardt's paintings (which ignited some squabbling between my friends and I as we tried to spot the patterns). However, my favorite may just have been the photos by Hiroshi Sugimoto - I've always been attracted to the contrasts between the light and the dark, and that's exactly what his work captures.

In any case, there's only one week left until the end of the exhibit (runs until April 14) - but I really do recommend it if you can go! It really is incredible.

Kawamura Museum of Art from a distance.

Also, just as an extra little note - the grounds directly adjacent to the museum include a park and nature trail, which are also owned/maintained by DIC. Throughout the year, there are always all sorts of plants and flowers of the season in bloom. If you're planning a visit to the museum, make sure to leave aside some time to check out the park too!

Getting artsy.

Welcome to the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art!

The Kanto region has apparently entered rainy season...but we were still lucky to get (partially) beautiful, clear weather on Sunday!

Tickets to the current Flowerscapes exhibition.

I had previously visited the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art (DIC川村記念美術館) for work, and got tickets through that. Obviously with work, you can't quite enjoy things at your own pace, so I roped a friend into coming with me (thank you!).

Restaurant and gallery.

Tucked away in the woods of Sakura City in Chiba, this place is absolutely gorgeous! It was only about a 30 minute drive from Chiba City, but it's like the perfect hideaway. This particular building houses the museums restaurant (amazing!), one of the gift shops, and a couple of galleries where local organizations can run their own mini exhibitions.

Adorable sign boards at the restaurant!

Before actually heading into the museum, we popped into the museum restaurant, Belvedere, for lunch. It's a bit pricey, but it's lovely, has a gorgeous food, and the food is fantastic! I didn't actually get to try any of the items above (except for the dessert plate), but the drinks look particularly awesome. Someday...

Anyway, we got the lunch A set, which comes with salad, a main dish, dessert, and coffee/tea for 1,600 yen.

Italian ham and asparagus cream sauce spaghetti. Simple but genius.

Dessert plate: mango mousse, rare cheese thing, and some sort of cake with apple in it? All super delicious.

After lunch, we also took a short stroll down the nature trail:

Almost hydrangea season!

The nature trail has all sorts of seasonal flowers and plants, and it's also maintained to perfection, so it seems like a lot of people come here just to chill, even if they aren't going to the museum itself.

I really like this tiny stream so it's the only thing I actually took a photo of, but there's also a giant field where you can have picnics, tennis courts, baseball field, etc. connected to the nature trail! All open to the public. This place is gorgeous!!

From the nature trail - the museum peeking out behind the trees!

They've got all sorts of ducks and geese running around...so adorable! <3

So photogenic.

Giant sculpture of a mass of awesomeness.

Entrance to the museum building.

Finally, it was time to actually check out the museum itself! Kawamura has a reaaaaally impressive collection. I think we spent 2-3 hours looking around?? A couple of my favorites were "The Pop Garden" in the Flowerscapes exhibition, and Mark Rothko's Seagram Murals in the Museum Collection.

Info board next to the entrance.

The museum is generally open everyday from 9:30-17:00 (last admission at 16:30) except for Mondays (unless Monday is a holiday, in which the museum is then closed on the following day) and the Japanese New Year holidays. Cost of admission varies according to the current exhibit. This time around, admission for adults was 1,200 yen.

The Kawamura Museum is potentially a new favorite spot of mine - can't wait to go again!

There are so many parts that I couldn't actually get into within the museum itself, since I don't have photos (no photography allowed inside of course), so you will just have to see for yourself! In the meantime, their website is very well maintained so you can get a good overview of what the museum offers before actually going: http://kawamura-museum.dic.co.jp/en/index.html

Yay for artsiness!