futomaki sushi

Last weekend we had our first Chiba-kun Ambassador opinion exchange! Due to a previous commitment I wasn't able to stay for the actual opinion exchange (defeating the purpose, I know), but I was able to make it to the first two events: futomaki sushi and a presentation on tourism in Chiba.

 

I've made futomaki sushi before (probably under the direction of the same group, even), but that didn't make this time any less fun! We started out with a demonstration from the teacher in charge, who showed us how to make both a rose (which I made last time) and the slightly more complicated peach flower (which I decided to try this time).

And then it was time for us to try it ourselves! We split into small groups with a teacher to help us, and gave it our best. Making the peach flower was certainly a little more complicated than the rose, but I still think it turned out pretty well! After we finished making them, we each traded half of our peach flower roll for half of a rose roll from another group, so we could try both.






Next, our teacher demonstrated how to make a panda! This was different from ours because it had egg on the outside instead of seaweed, and was also way more complicated. It ended up super cute though! Other groups' teachers made things like cherry trees, butterflies, and flowers.

Finally, it was time for us to eat! They also prepared some sort of delicious clear soup for us to eat, and with that plus the rolls we made and from the teachers, it was a loott of lunch. I managed to eat it all somehow (since I couldn't take it to my next destination with me), but to be honest I think I may have been the only one, haha.  It was tasty though, and the cheese stick that was in the center of the peach flower roll actually went with it pretty well, which surprised me a little. We got little pamphlets with the recipes/instructions on them, so if I want to I can try it again on my own sometime!

hakone!

So this post is way, way late, but last month, my friend and I took a weekend trip to Hakone, a town (city?) a few hours away in Kanagawa Prefecture (not too far from Yokohama). We only stayed for one night, but it was super fun!

Hakone is actually a very popular travel destination, and after having been there it's easy to see why: it's a really gorgeous place in the mountains, with hot springs and interesting places to visit - not to mention the fact that they clearly know what they're doing as far as tourism goes, with a well-structured public transportation system that makes it easy to access the many museums and other sites they've built there.

We started out from Tokyo with the 'Hakone Free Pass', which covered our (local) train fare to/from Tokyo plus bus/ferry/train fare in Hakone, and also gave us discounts in other places. Our first stop was lunch, and then we hopped on a bus to the pier to board a pirate ship! For some reason in English it's only advertised as a 'sightseeing cruise' but the Japanese definitely says 'pirate ship', which is much more exciting, I think.




So after a short boat ride across Lake Ashi, we then got onto the Hakone Ropeway to ride a cable car up the mountain! Our next destination was Owakudani, which is a volcanic valley with sulfur hot springs, famous for black eggs that are said to make you live 7 years longer if you eat one. (They're boiled in the springs and apparently turn black because of the sulfur; as it happens, I ate 2.5)

Then we came back down via cable car and headed to our next destination, the Hakone Glass Forest/Venetian Glass Museum. Which doesn't sound super interesting, but actually it was pretty cool! There were glass pieces outside in a beautiful garden-like area, plus some delicate and interesting works inside. I think my favorites were the giant glass onions scattered around!

After that we just went to our ryokan and chilled for a bit, had dinner at a Korean restaurant (where we had to wait foreevveerrr but it was tasty so I guess it was okay), had a bath in the hot spring water, and went to bed.

The next morning was the main reason why I wanted to go to Hakone and what I had been looking forward to ever since I learned it existed: the Museum of Saint-Exupery and The Little Prince in Hakone! I spent most of the time freaking out about everything, which included statues of characters from the books, a stamp rally where you had to collect stamps and create your own Le Petit Prince book, and a lot of interesting information about the author. Needless to say, it was great, and I will happily go back sometime if anybody wants to see it! :D

We continued by taking a bus to Gora and having lunch at a cute little cafe called Woody, before wandering around the Hakone Open Air Museum, which was huge and awesome. There were tons of sculptures outside and exhibits inside, plus a free hot spring foot bath!

With that, our trip came to an end because it was Sunday and we both had to get back for work, but there's still a ton of things in Hakone that we didn't get to visit, so I'd like to go back someday! Maybe in the winter next time, when I'll really appreciate the hot springs. I got the feeling that my family would really enjoy being there too, so maybe if they come visit again...? :)

unofficial tour, part two: narita yume bokujo

Continuing from my last post, our next destination was Narita Yume Bokujo, or Narita Dream Farm! During the half-hour drive from Boso-no-Mura I remember seeing lots more beautifully green rice fields - I tell you, I can't get enough of them. Anyway, this is a 'sightseeing ranch' (says their website), where you can see farm animals and try things like making bread or butter. You can also bring your dogs (if you buy them tickets) and I think there's a little area meant just for them with bathing facilities and other cool stuff.

Before we entered the actual attraction, though, we were first drawn to their sunflower maze! I know we have corn mazes in the US (though I've never been in one) but this was my first time seeing a sunflower maze, so I was pretty excited. As far as mazes go, it wasn't very difficult (nor were the quiz questions we had to answer to win a coupon for ice cream), but the sunflowers were breathtaking! When we were in it we couldn't see much (plus they were facing the sun in the opposite direction), but they had conveniently put a little platform near the end for a great view - I've never seen so many sunflowers all at once and it was awesome.

Then we went into Yume Bokujo, where our accomplished our first mission (lunch). Then we wandered along, passing things like a segway course, a hill with plastic sleds (that both Ishizaki-san and I clearly wanted to try but refrained from because the main participants were probably all under the age of 7), and a little golf course, before stopping to try archery! Or rather, Ella did archery and let me try it once (the arrow didn't even go as far as the target -.-') while Ishizaki-san observed, haha.



Next we arrived at a little space in the middle full of goats and sheep! The first thing I noticed was an elevated wooden walkway with goats perched on top, and then suddenly it was feeding time. Staff showed up with buckets of straw and boy, did those animals run to be fed! Watching them race from across the field to first one bucket of food to the next was really amusing. :D There was even food on top of the walkway for a few goats, too.

There were also horses nearby, but we didn't visit them because Ella is allergic, and we also skipped by the motocross field and strawberry farms, but I did hold a guinea pig and see some cows (not to mention staff dressed in cow suits). Good stuff.

And then we had ice cream! Made from the milk on the farm, it was really rich and creamy and delicious! After a day of mostly walking around outside, it was a perfect end to our visit. All in all I thought Yume Bokujo was pretty nice, and I imagine it's a perfect place for families with small children to come and have fun.

Narita Yume Bokujo
Address: 730 Nagi, Narita-shi, Chiba Prefecture 289-0111
TEL: 0476-96-1001
Hours: 9:00 - 17:00 (10:00 - 16:00 during winter)
Admission: 1200 for adults, 700 for children over age 3
Access: 10 minutes by free shuttle bus from JR Namegawa Station
Website: http://www.yumebokujo.com/en/index.php

After Yume Bokujo, because Ishizaki-san asked us if there was anywhere else we might want to go, we went to the Shisui Premium Outlets on our way back to Chiba! The outlets (120 stores) just opened in April, so they are pretty brand spanking new. It was kind of weird, because I felt like I haven't been anywhere in the Japan that looks so exactly like the US, so it was almost like being home (and shopping) for a little bit. :) Another cool thing about the outlets is that since they're close to Narita Airport (only 15 minutes away by shuttle), the food court has a set of screens in the center with listing flight arrivals and departures, which I thought was super convenient. I didn't actually buy anything or go into that many stores, but I'd certainly like to go back someday. Apparently outlet malls are just starting to be a thing in Japan, so it's pretty lucky to have a new big one nearby (we have a little one in Chiba, too!).

Shisui Premium Outlets
Address: 689 Iizumi, Shisui-machi, Inba-gun, Chiba, Japan 285-0912
Hours: 10:00-20:00
Access: Shuttles from JR Tokyo Station and Narita Airport, buses from JR/Keisei Shisui Station (fares vary)
Website: http://www.premiumoutlets.co.jp/en/shisui/

And then it was back to Chiba, where Ella and I had our second fateful run-in with Ishizaki-san in two days (before and after meeting/leaving him for the tour) and the first unofficial tour was over! It was pretty fun to go around in a small group, and apparently these will happen once a month or so, so hopefully I can participate again! :)

first unofficial chiba-kun tour: boso-no-mura

Two weekends ago, we had our first unofficial Chiba-kun ambassadors tour! By which I mean, our fearless leader Ishizaki-san volunteered to take a few of us around to places in Chiba that are a little harder to get to via transportation, so my fellow ambassador friend Ella and I took him up on it!

Our first stop for the day was Boso-no-Mura, a prefectural outdoor air museum that showcases traditional life and crafts in the Boso area. Once you step in, the scenery totally changes and you feel like it totally could be Japan from a few hundred years ago (apparently the architecture is from the late Edo to early Meiji periods). We also went first thing in the morning, so there weren't too many other visitors and the morning air was wonderfully refreshing!




Boso-no-Mura is unexpectedly huge and beautiful. After taking a quick stroll through the craftmaking area (more on that later), we just wandered around in a general loop and enjoyed the view. There are lots of trees and other plants and picturesque little trails, with things like an artifact museum or traditional farmhouses popping up along the way. I remember being struck (as I always am) by the gorgeous green color of the rice paddies we passed by. Definitely one of my favorite parts about Japan.

As we went around, we stopped to take a look at most of the buildings that came up, where we could see the insides of the houses with things like stoves, baskets, tools, and even toys on display. I tried doing a ring toss and walking on bamboo sticks but failed miserably at both. -.-' At one point we came across a stage with taiko drums set up on it and stopped to listen to the woman who was performing there (not a staff member, but just a normal visitor, we thought).


And then we went into a building where they had looms set up, with the chance for us to experience them ourselves! One of Boso-no-Mura's main attractions is that they offer all sorts of traditional experiences (to the extent that Boso-no-Mura is actually called an 'experience museum'), from farming to cooking to craft-making, which you can try for usually just a few hundred yen . So with the help and instructions of the staff, Ella and I tried our hand at making little coasters with the looms! It was pretty cool to think that this is how cloth was (and is) made, and I couldn't help but be impressed by whoever came up with the idea of weaving (amazing).

Then we tried making and binding little notebooks, which I think turned out pretty well! There were lots of other possible crafts to try - pottery, making coasters out of tatami, making candles - but we decided to wrap up our visit there. Still, there was still a lot of the village we didn't see and even more experiences we didn't try, so I would certainly not mind going back there someday! As a place that you could probably go to several times and not get tired of, I think it ranks pretty high up on my list of attractions I've been to in Chiba, so I'd definitely recommend Boso-no-Mura to anybody looking for a traditional experience.

Boso-no-Mura Experience Museum
Address: 1028 Ryukakuji, Sakae-machi, Imba-gun, Chiba Prefecture, 270-1506
Admission: 300 yen for adults, 150 yen for high school/college students
Hours: 9:00-16:30, closed Mondays
Access: 20 minutes by bus from JR Narita Station on the JR Narita Line (headed for "Ryukakuji-dai-shako", get off at "Ryukakuji-dai-2-chome", followed by an 8-minute walk)
Website: http://www.chiba-muse.or.jp/MURA/e/

ocean day beach day

So the third Monday in July is a national holiday in Japan: 海の日 / Umi no Hi, otherwise known as Marine Day/Ocean Day/Sea Day. To celebrate, I went to the beach! It's been at least a year, if not two, since I last went to the beach, so this was pretty exciting.

Since Chiba is a peninsula, there are lots of beaches, and this time I went to Onjuku Beach, on the Pacific Side, around the middle of Chiba-kun's back (to use our usual way of explaining where things are in Chiba, since the mascot is shaped like the prefecture).

The beach is only about a 10-minute walk from JR Onjuku Station, and even though I only had a vague idea of where I was going, just strolling around in the general direction of the beach was pretty nice. There were a lot of cute and interesting looking shops and restaurants, and I even came across what is apparently the first elementary school textbook library in the world? Just shows you never know what you might come across when wandering around, haha.

And then it was the time for the beach! For some reason there were statues of camels (that I didn't catch a picture of because they were surrounded by other people taking pictures) near the entrance, which was interesting. The beach was hot and sunny and sandy, as all good beaches should be. I've heard that a lot of beaches in Japan actually have black sand (which was the case when I went to Shonan Beach a few months ago, which surprised me a little), but at Onjuku the sand is white (or yellow? Not black, anyway), so it felt like the beaches at home.

The waves were pretty strong (I think Onjuku is also a big surfing place) so we didn't go too far, but it felt awesome to be in the water on such a hot day. There's not too much to say about the rest of the day, which was mostly just normal relaxing and playing at the beach, but for dinner we went to a little place called Flying Sumo Surf Co. for some really fantastic pizza! We ordered a few different kinds to share and they were all delicious. (You can check out their website here!)

So, good times at the beach on Ocean Day. Hopefully I'll get the chance to go around a few more beaches around Chiba and see how they're different!

sosa high school culture festival

Yesterday I went to Sosa High School's culture festival, which was my first high school culture festival in Japan! I went to the one at Nanzan University (and I think also Nagoya University?) when I studied abroad, but it was cool to see what it's like at a high school level, too.

For those who don't know, a culture festival is a big school event where classes and clubs hold performances/demonstrations and have cafes, booths, haunted houses, etc. It's really a shame we don't have something similar in the US (or at least I don't think we do), because it seems like working on this with your classmates/friends is a ton of fun!

I was impressed right away by the decorations and signs that the students had made, which were clever and well-done. After meeting up with a friend who is an ALT at Sosa HS, our first stop was a class who was selling hot dogs, with decorations that were apparently based of the game Animal Crossing (which I don't know anything about). After that, we went around an exhibit of student artwork (some of which was pretty impressive), into my first haunted house, and then to the gym to see some student performances. First was a band, whose last song was a really clever and amusing song involving Jomon vs. Yayoi pottery and Japanese history (from what I could tell), which was apparently really popular with their peers. Last of all was the soccer team, who came out in sunglasses and did some dancing and acrobatics to the cheers of lots of high school girls (apparently the soccer team is pretty popular too).

I didn't have a chance to go around all the booths, since I got there a little late and it was only until 2pm, but I wish I could have! Maybe next time. Still, it was a good time. :)

fukushima organic cotton

Last weekend, I went on a volunteer day-trip to Iwaki, Fukushima! It was actually the day right before the JLPT, but my friend Laura invited me to go along and I figured it was better not to spend the day just cramming - which it definitely was! We went on a JTB tour to participate in the Fukushima Organic Cotton project, and it was really fun. :D

Beautiful green rice paddies (picture doesn't do it justice)

The three of us got up bright and early to meet at Tokyo Station by 6:45 and then get on our bus. I'm pretty sure that as soon as the volunteers were on the bus, all anybody planned or wanted to do was just pass out for a few hours, but instead we (or most of us at least) listened to our guide (who was super young and peppy) explain what we'd be doing and watched a (really loud) video about the history of the project. To put it briefly, Fukushima's agricultural industry took a big blow after March 11 because of fears of radioactivity, so the founders of the Fukushima Organic Cotton project thought of growing organic cotton instead of food, which would keep fields from being abandoned. I think it's a brilliant idea, really, and definitely worth supporting.

Where we worked!

Planting~

Our tasks for the day were to plant new baby cotton plants and to weed the area, so after a brief explanation we got to work! I was originally concerned about the heat, but there was a nice sea breeze blowing the whole time, so even in jeans and gloves it wasn't too bad. Digging little holes and planting the cotton seedlings was somehow really satisfying, and I had a good time chatting with my friends and other volunteers as we worked.

After a few hours of work, we headed to a nearby hotel, Iwaki Shinmaiko Heights, for a lunch break. As we ate, we heard an explanation of Iwaki City and how it was affected by the earthquake and tsunami two years ago (though to be honest I didn't understand a fair part of it so I can't really say much about it here -.-'), after which we headed back to the field for some weeding. Weeding is probably not anybody's favorite job (or maybe it is, I don't know), but again I had a good time chatting while working, and in the end I think we all managed to clear a fair amount. Laura and i each also ordered a t-shirt with their logo the Organic Cotton Babe (which always makes me giggle a little), who despite what its name sounds like is a cute little fluffy character. The T-shirts are apparently made with the cotton that was planted last year, which is pretty cool.

Didn't even notice the encouraging message until now

And then after another hour or two, we were done for the day! We went back to the hotel for a soak in the onsen there to freshen up, which was lovely (even in summer), before piling back onto the bus for a tour of the areas that were affected by the tsunami. Even after hearing about the disaster during lunch, it was pretty sobering to actually see things like places where only the foundations of houses were left and a school where the tsunami hit so hard the gymnasium was actually caved in (but school had already been let out by then so luckily no children were affected). That said, we also saw new houses that had been rebuilt, which was encouraging.

 

Then, after a quick stop in a nearby town to buy souvenirs and dinner, we were back off to Tokyo. The ride back home consisted mostly of sleeping but also a taste of natto (fermented soy bean) ice cream at a rest stop, which was surprisingly okay but still not something I would eat again. 

It was a long but fun and fulfilling day! It felt good to be back in Tohoku volunteering and feeling like I was able to help even a tiny bit with the recovery, which even two years later is still a work in progress. The staff kept encouraging us to come back and volunteer again at different stages of the cotton's growth, so who knows, maybe I'll go back! All in all, a very worthwhile day trip (even if it was the day before a big exam, haha). :)