One Week in Chiba: Part 1 ~a natural kind of luxury~

Like I mentioned in my previous post, last week my parents visited me here in Japan.

It was their first time visiting me since I've actually started working here a little over 3 years ago, and I really wanted to show them my life here, and just why I love it here so much. We spent the whole week exploring a bunch of my favorite places in Chiba (and Chiba only!!), so I'd like to share the some of the places we went/things we did/people we met here as well!

I wound up collecting about 600 photos over the whole week, so I'll be sharing our trip through multiple posts.

So...here we go!

Rent-a-car, go!!!

My parents arrived late Monday evening, so we headed straight down to Kamogawa, our first destination! After a good night's rest at the Hidamari Inn, we headed out bright and early the next morning to check out some of my favorite spots around town.

ママと一緒♡似てるかな？？

 This first post will focus on our morning activities, which were centered around the Kominato district of Kamogawa~! Behind us in the photo above is Kominato Bay.

Dad looking across the bay...

We then went to the 鯛の浦遊歩道 (Tai-no-Ura leisure path?) - this has been a long time favorite place of mine, because it's like the perfect place for strolls as you enjoy views of the Pacific Ocean and downtown Kamogawa in the distance.

This area's name, "Tai-no-Ura (lit. "Sea Bream Bay")," originates from a legend related to Nichiren Shonin, who was said to be born in this area. The legend states that when he was born, three miracles happened - one of them being that sea breams, which are a deep water fish, suddenly appeared in this shallow water bay. Even now they thrive there, and you can take a short ferry trip around the bay to see them!

The skies were a bit foreboding at first, but it cleared up later on in the day!

There were a bunch of people fishing on the rocks, as well as this person who kept diving in and out of the ocean - perhaps fishing for seaweed or something???

Downtown Kamogawa in the distance!

The tall white building in the middle of the above photo is the Kamogawa Grand Tower, where we stayed that night - but that deserves it's very own post, which I should be putting up next.

Hallo! At the monument at the end of the path.

Next, we went to 誕生寺 (Tanjoji Temple), which was built to honor the birth of Nichiren Shonin.

Powerful carvings decorating the temple hall!

A statue of Nichiren Shonin.

Also, we still had some time before our lunch appointment, so we also drove by the Osenkorogashi cliffs which are located right along the edge of Kamogawa leading into the neighboring Katsuura City. It looks kinda like Cali's Route 1 (except the grass is crazy overgrown - I think it looks much prettier here in the winter~.)

The restaurant 蔵 ("Kura") located inside the ryokan.

Deep in the mountains of the Kominato district, you can find this gorgeous ryokan, the 緑水亭 (Ryokusuitei). I'd heard of it many times during the three years I lived in Kamogawa...and just how much pricey it was too - I believe the usual rate is 100,000 yen per night (over US$1,000).

Here is the Ryokusuitei website: http://ryokusuitei.jp/

Once, some friends and I had toyed with the idea of just going there for lunch. Finally, we decided to call the Ryokusuitei to see how much lunch was. We were kinda expecting it, but we were still floored when we were told that lunch starts at 10,000 yen = more than US$100. Needless to say, that idea died out pretty quickly.

The entire restaurant is solely made up of private dining rooms!

We were able to have lunch at the Ryokusuitei this time around thanks to Saito-san and her husband, who both took good care of me when I lived in Kamogawa. I had originally planned lunch at a different place, but when Saito-san heard I would be visiting with my parents, she offered to take us. I may not ever have the chance to go again...but omg, it was amaaaazing!

Garden within the ryokan.

The whole reason we had lunch here!

My only "requirement" for lunch was to go to a place where I could feed my parents this - one of my current favorite foods, 金目鯛の煮付け (Golden Eye snapper cooked in soy sauce blended with sake and sugar). It doesn't look so big here, but this was actually as long as the tip of my fingers down to my elbow...and each person got one of these babies to ourselves. I've had this at a number of places, but this is by far the best I've ever had.

On another note, the paper at the bottom of the photo is the menu for our meal! I even kept it as a souvenir because it was so EPIC. If you count, we had THIRTEEN different dishes in our course.

Here are just a couple photos of some of the other dishes:

Appetizers (...and oolong tea in the middle).

Delicious sashimi *drool*

(front) Chilled fruit/vegetable dish, (back) round eggplant topped with miso and vegetables

Group photoooo!!!

Sorry for the blurriness...but both of the photos we had taken turned out like this ;_;. Anyway, the couple to my right is Saito-san and her husband. I know they won't read this, but thank you for an amazing time!!!


This is just the beginning - there's still a lot more to come in upcoming posts!

Relaxing at the Hidamari Inn.

So today is the big day!! My parents are coming to Japan to stay for the week - in a bit I'll be heading out to Narita to pick them up.

We'll be staying in Kamogawa for 3 days, 2 nights, but I actually came down to Kamogawa a day earlier because I joined another matsuri yesterday (no pictures this time though, sorry!). Normally I stay at a friend's place, but since I had already made reservations for my parents' accommodations, I decided to just add an extra night at our first hotel (we'll be staying at two different places).

Hidamari Inn!!! I've wanted to stay here for ages, but never had a chance. It's a family-owned place - a mother and son pair first started off with a ryokan called Tomioka Ryokan, which is actually behind this building. Through lots of hard work, they expanded their business and opened this building, the Hidamari Inn, two years ago. So now they have to Tomioka Ryokan, which offers Japanese-style accomodations, and the Hidamari Inn, which is Western-style.

In the same complex is the Sumibiya, a restaurant-bar that I frequented a lot when I still lived in Kamogawa. Just as the name implies, the tables are equipped with shichirin grills where food is cooked right in front of you!

This place was also built together with the Hidamari Inn, so it's only 2 years old, but it's already really popular with both locals and visitors! The chef is a very pretty lady who studied/trained in Spain, and everything she makes is absolutely genius! They serve everything from paella to sashimi to deer jerky (yes deer jerky - and it's reaaaaally really good!).

Anyway, into the Hidamari Inn itself:

Room C!

The Hidamari Inn only has 5 rooms, and it's reaaaaaally popular so it books up really fast! This is the third time I've tried to book here, and the first time I ever managed to get it.

So spacious!!! So pretty!!

Okay, I'll be honest that I was expected a very small, closet room - that's what it's like for many hotels in Japan. And the price is so cheap - I only paid 5250 yen for Sunday night, which is an absolute steal for Kamogawa, a resort city. (I believe the rates for Saturday night are around 8000 yen, which is still super cheap for Kamogawa.) I was VERY pleasantly surprised when the owner opened the room and showed me inside.

This is the view from the room! All of the rooms overlook Futama Beach (a popular surfing spot) in Kamogawa's Amatsu District. This is the same place we did jibiki-ami fishing last month~. The area around here is really nice, really quiet - perfect for strolls along the shore!

Taken from the other side of the room.

And yet another perk of staying here - all of the rooms are equipped with free internet access (via LAN). Here in Kamogawa, hotels equipped with free internet access are pretty much nonexistant, so this alone gets huge points in my book.

Anyway, if you are looking for a nice place to stay in Kamogawa, but don't want to put too much stress on your wallet, I definitely definitely recommend the Hidamari Inn!


http://www.hidamari-inn.com/

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?

A Little R&R.

Today I'm switching gears from my usual posts. In between work and lots of other chores that needed to be taken care of, I was finally able to set aside some time for some good R&R.

Yay!! Playdate!

After getting our hair done (I was in desperate need of a recoloring), we grabbed lunch at one of our Chiba City favorites, Village Vanguard! Village Vanguard is not only one of the best bookstores ever, it also runs a chain of restaurants serving huge, juicy, amazingly delicious hamburgers.

(front) 温玉タコライス, (back) アボカドタコライス

Yes, their main menu is the hamburgers, but actually every time I go here I pretty much order this <3 Taco rice!!! The name says it all. It's taco filling - ground beef seasoned with taco spice, tomato, greens, and cheese (the bacon and egg is extra) - all on top of rice. Love love love this stuff!

We also just noticed that they had onion rings, and added that to our meal. This place is definitely great if you ever have a craving for a good American(?) meal. Make sure you go on an empty stomach!

The outside of the restaurant. It's located on the top floor of PARCO, a department store type place in Chiba and a little over a 5 minute walk from Chiba Station.

(left) Soy Matcha Frappuccino, (right) Apple Crumble Frappuccino

After looking around all the shops, we stopped for a break at Starbucks. Okay, once again not very Japan-like perhaps. In my defense, I rarely go to Starbucks here in Japan. We went because I'd had the Apple Crumble Latte a couple days ago, and wanted to share its deliciousness with someone else. This time I got the frappuccino version and it wasn't as good, but it was still nice.

Heehee. Simply because I really enjoy this photo.

Handful of LOVE rabbits!!!

One of our last stops for the day was the arcade! Kicchan helped me win this bunch of LOVE rabbits, which I really like because of their strange/dumb faces.

Trying to win a Gloomy Bear caught in a bear trap. I just noticed that cat poster in the corner, it's kinda creepy...

I tried reaaaaaaally hard not to buy stuff, I really did! I did okay, until I saw these babies. I love strapped heels because they won't fall off (lately my heels have the tendency to slip off while I'm walking and all of the sudden I am shoeless...maybe I walk weird??). If only they had them in dark blue..love the tan/orange color though! They were only 3,000 yen for both pairs~.

Okay! Enough randomness. Japan is finally transitioning into fall and the weather is absolutely wonderful~. A little more and soon I'll be able to whip out my trench coat!

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!!!