Summer to-do list: fireworks...check!

So here I am, officially on my fifth and final year on the JET Programme! Time really does fly. I've met tons of new people, gone to a lot of different places, tried out many new things...and now I have a few traditions too!

One tradition is going to the Tateyama Fireworks Display (館山湾花火大会), held on August 8 each year...it was my 4th year in a row going to see the fireworks here! I have a lot of pride for Kamogawa, but the fireworks in Tateyama are particularly amazing...if you didn't go this year, definitely go next year!

Anyway, last year I found out through experience that the roads back north get extremely clogged up after fireworks are over. It's so bad that it probably takes an hour and a half to drive a distance that usually only takes about 5 minutes.

So I was already planning to use the train (the Hojo beach area is just a 5 minute walk from Tateyama Station on the JR Uchibo Line), but this fantastic deal helped me save some money:

Powerful x Smile Chiba Free Pass (パワフル×スマイルちばフリーパス)

For just 1,800 yen for adults, you can ride the JR lines, Kominato Railway, Isumi Railway, and Choshi Electric Railway anywhere within Chiba Prefecture (plus just a touch over into Kashima in Ibaraki Prefecture using JR) as much as you want for one day!! If you want to ride the fancy limited express trains, you just have to buy a separate ticket for that too.

Anyway, this deal is really great if you've ever wanted to travel to the outer regions of Chiba! For instance, standard fare for Chiba Station to/from Tateyama is 1,450 yen one way (1,450 yen x 2= 2,900 yen). But since I was able to use this pass for both ways, I was able to save 1,100 yen (2,900 yen - 1,800 yen=1,100 yen)!!

This was just for a simple Point A to Point B trip, but if you're looking for a full day trip somewhere in/around Chiba, this is definitely for you. As much as I love it, highway bus fare from Chiba to/from Kamogawa is already 1,800 yen one way...!!!

What the actual pass looks like :)

I rarely do extensive traveling by train, but it's really easy to buy! Just go to any JR Ticket Reservation Center (みどりの窓口) at any JR station in Chiba Prefecture, and tell them you want a Powerful x Smile Chiba Free Pass! (And probably feel just a little silly saying it like I did.) Or more than one, if you're traveling with friends.

You can buy the pass in advance, or you can buy it the same day you'll be using it, which is what I did. But beware...this deal is only available until Friday, August 31!! Happy travels!

For more info, here's the link to the pdf describing this deal (sorry, it's all in Japanese though):
http://www.jrchiba.jp/news/pdf/20120709pawasuma.pdf

One more fireworks picture, just for the record.

Fireworks season is almost over, but omatsuri (festival) season is just getting started!! Time for me to pull out my flowery ninja suit (= omatsuri outfit), as my friend called it.

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

Gourmet trip in Minamiboso.

Inside the restaurant area of Hina no Sato.

Recently I had the chance to make some progress on one of my ongoing missions....hunting down deliciousness in Chiba, particularly down south!

First stop -  Michi-no-Eki "Hina no Sato" (道の駅 鄙の里) in Minamiboso! I've gone to almost all of the Michi-no-Eki in the Awa region of Chiba...I'm working on eventually going to all of them! As I mentioned in a previous post, Michi-no-Eki are kind of like rest areas, but better!

Miyoshi's dairy products are hardcore!!

Hina no Sato sells products mainly from Miyoshi, the area of Minamiboso that it's located in. Miyoshi is really big on dairy products...still need to try that yogurt liquor they had!

(Okay I am cheating and leaving the photo small on purpose because it's a bit blurry...sorry my lovely models!)

Our first target...Hina no Sato's soft serve! They change the flavor every month...this month's flavor was strawberry yogurt! Mmm...the weather's getting warmer = ice cream season! Can't wait to find out what the flavor for May is.

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Our other target...BINGO BURGER! I love Japanese food, but every once in awhile there's just this urge to take a huge bite into a good burger, y'know?

Juicy meatiness!

Okay, we went for the burgers right after the soft serve, so I chickened out and got a Bingo Jr...but that's just more reason to go back another day and get a real Bingo burger! I was a little surprised that the burger bun was actually bread, but it goes really well! The hamburger patty is seriously amazing...and it comes with dessert haha.

Tucked away near Tateyama Station.

That evening, we went for a nice, relaxed dinner at CoCoTTE, a simple and comfy restaurant in Tateyama. They had a lovely, light course meal that I shall leave you with for this post (they have a larger course if you're feeling hungrier though!)...many more restaurants to dominate in the near future!

Appetizer: some sort of spicy soup, lovely spring roll, salmon, and I think some kind of meat?

You can choose fish or meat for your main...I got the fish, which was fried madai and something else...yum!!

My companions got the meat, which also looked fantastic.

Dessert...you get to choose THREE! I got creme brulee, yuzu sherbet, and almond mousse ice cream. All of it was delicious, but the almond mousse was particularly a really nice surprise!

Happy Holidays in the Boso.

Christmas Eve found me back in southern Chiba to spend some quality time with friends.

After a very busy December, it was time to take advantage of the lovely weather and explore some new places!

First stop was Mantokuji Temple ("萬徳寺"), which is right around the border of Tateyama and Minamiboso.

Admission is 500 yen per person (adults).

The highlight of this place is this giant reclining Buddha!!! I've heard it's the only reclining Buddha statue in Japan...I don't remember where from though, so please don't quote me on that though. :/

This is one of the last things you would expect to be sitting (laying?) on a tall hill right behind a 7-11...pretty cool! They also had people there to tell you how to properly pray there, step-by-step. After offering up incense at the alter in the middle, you follow the steps up. But the steps are actually a long slope that loops around the statue, so by walking around it 3 times you will naturally wind up at the statue's feet! It's said that praying at the feet of statue can help injuries/illnesses in the legs and feet.

We drew mikuji, or fortunes. Very ironically, mine told me I really need to brush up on my English.

You can also enjoy a lovely view of the surrounding area from the temple! They had free tea too. XD

Our next stop was Tateyama Castle! It's so photogenic.

View of Tateyama Bay from the top of the castle.

With admission to the castle, you also get admission to the Tateyama City Museum, so we decided to check it out!

I am not actually whether or not you are allowed to take photos within the museum (sorry)! I did look for signs saying that photography is prohibited, but I didn't see any...

But whoa!!! They had an entire house inside the museum!!! It was a super cool exhibit. You can actually go INTO the house and look around inside it too.

And the explanations for this exhibit are written in the Boshu dialect!!! The lighting is kind of in the way, but it is really neat to try and figure out how the explanation should be written if it were in standard Japanese.

We finished off our day of exploration by going to Hojo Beach in Tateyama to take photos of the sunset! You can't really tell, but the lump right in the center of this photo is actually Mt. Fuji.

Way too much fun playing on the beach even though it was freeeeeezing.

Anyway, I'll be going back down again tomorrow to bring in the New Year's!!! I can't believe there's only one day left before 2012.

Hello Autumn!!!

Gorgeous weather on Tokyo Bay~.

Finally the deathly humid weather is over and the past week has been wonderful and dry and COOL! In celebration of the refreshing autumn weather, I just want to share some photos I took the other day when I went to Gake Kannon in Tateyama! The lovely view in the photo above was taken from Gake Kannon.

Gake Kannon is the red building to the left.

Gake Kannon (officially called Daifukuji) is a temple built - just as you see it, on the side of an almost totally vertical cliff. Gake Kannon - and its surroundings! - are also strikingly photogenic.

I have a thing for taking pictures of these kinds of signs pointing places~.

But first, you have to make your way up this! No pain, no gain.

近???

 I honestly have no idea what this is supposed to be - does anyone know? It was carved into the side of the cliff, and I was curious so I took a photo.

Tuuuurtle! So cute!

Also built directly into the cliff?

I wonder if people were allowed in here before?

Happy carving thing!!! This is a tengu(?) I think? It looks like a snake to me...

And...one last lovely view of the Tateyama area!

Gake Kannon was a very nice, close getaway! This is a really lovely place to just enjoy the view and relax. The day I took the photos it was still pretty humid, but perhaps now that the weather is a little drier, maybe you can see even further?

Tateyama Yawatanmachi (Awa Kokushisai) Festival.

Giant sign that reads "Awa Kokushisai," at Tsurugaya Hachiman Shrine.

So...I reaaaally love matsuri, or festivals. I can't quite put it into words why I love them so much! I've met a lot of Japanese people who are very "meh" about festivals, while there are others who are so crazy about them that the festival is bigger than any other annual event, like Christmas or New Years or birthdays.

This past weekend was my first time visiting the Yawatanmachi festival - officially called the Awa Kokushisai festival. A friend once told me「館山のお祭りは、とにかくすごいんだよ」= "Tateyama's festival is epic!"...and now I know why (as depicted in the video at the very end of ).

Anyway, allow me to share my love of festivals through a few more photos, as well as a video:

One of the few times of the year that this area is totally packed with people.

One of the stall things along this road was a haunted house...it was amusing to walk by and hear all the little kids screaming.

This is my lame attempt at trying to be artistic at capturing the mikoshi.

A slightly better shot of the mikoshi. I'm not sure what is going on here, but it looks like the mikoshi are all shoved towards the shrine multiple times. I wonder if it's some sort of prayer/ritual? I have to research more.

I also went to see the gathered dashi floats at JR Tateyama Station. The ground level was overflowing with people, but my friend and I were able to find this awesome balcony area you can look down on everything from.

And last but most certainly not least, the promised video of mikoshi footage! Watch, and be amazed by it's epicness.

They heave it from side to side! If you've never carried a mikoshi before, that might not mean so much, but these things tend to weigh 500-700 pounds. Maybe more. It is painful enough to carry it on your shoulder...imagine trying to heave it up and down like the people here. When it swings down, I can't understand how the people don't get horribly crushed under the sheer weight and pressure.

Next up on my matsuri schedule is the infamous Ohara Hadaka (yes "Naked") Festival!

Don't worry, the men aren't actually naked...They just wear cloth underwear/fundoshi, like what sumo wrestlers wear. I am still hoping to go, although Typhoon No. 15 seems rather set on ruining my plans.

Autumn is definitely omatsuri season!!!

Mini roadtrip in Minamiboso.

In a very spur of the moment mood swing (and also because I hadn't driven my car for over one week), I decided to go driving around Minamiboso City. 

It was partially to do research for work, partially because I have had an insatiable itch for adventure lately...and I only felt more encouraged by the lovely weather. After an easy 1 hour 20 minute drive straight down the expressway, and I was back in the inaka (and I really do miss it)!

Lots of random Chiba tourist pamphlets/magazines/books.

With no particular goal in mind, the roadtrip turned into a mission to explore the area Michi-no-eki, which I guess equate to rest areas, except that they are often equipped with stores, restaurants, and other random attractions.

First stop was Nanbo Paradise in Tateyama! Someday I wanna climb the tower thing in the back.

Lots of random soft serve ice cream flavors!!

 I got dragonfruit-flavored soft serve, because I had seen it in a guidebook and the poisonous purple color strongly attracted me. It tasted like vanilla.

Maybe not so good?

Kicchan is an adventurer and got durian-flavored soft serve. It tastes exactly like cold, raw onions. I kid you not. Or better yet, if you don't believe me, I encourage you to try it out.

There wasn't much of anything here at the Shirahama-Nojimazaki rest area, but it is super close to the awesome Shirahama coastline. I wish I had pictures to show, but I was driving - perhaps I'll go back another day to take a stroll along the coast.

This rest area itself had a bunch of greenhouses around it, so maybe they do a lot of flower-related stuff in the spring and what not?

I was able to catch the last of this year's sunflowers though.

Last stop of the day!

Finally, Shiokaze Oukoku (I don't actually know the official romanization for it??), which is Chikura, Minamiboso City. I'd always heard about how awesome this place was, but it was my first time actually visiting it. I want to randomly wander around it more (especially around that wonderful looking ship-thing to the right)!

BRILLIANT.

Okay, let me be more honest with myself. 80% of this sudden mini roadtrip was because after seeing this thing in the guidebook, I felt compelled to come see it with my own eyes. I still have no idea what this character/thing is supposed to be, but it's freaking BRILLIANT. I love it <3

Omiyage from Shiokaze Oukoku!

And so I end with this - just looking at these makes me really happy! I shouldn't be spoiling this (they are meant to be omiyage for other people...), but these things are too wonderful NOT to share with the whole world.