kamogawa!

This weekend, I finally went down to Kamogawa, in southern Chiba, to visit my friend Ella! I was supposed to have visited her a few months ago but ended up not going because of the weather, so I'm glad to have actually gotten there this time. It was also only my second time going that far down the peninsula (took about two hours by train), so it was good to see a little bit more of it!

Once I got to the station (which has a mini aquarium in it!), we headed off towards Kamogawa Sea World, the main attraction for the day. Right after we left the station, though, I got distracted by seeing the ocean so close, so we took a more scenic route. I've probably said this before, but even though I do actually live right by the ocean (Chiba Port, which is about 15 minutes away by bike, is one of Japan's busiest ports!) and in fact you can see it from the roof of my workplace, it doesn't really feel like it. So it was pretty cool to step out of the station and see sand and waves after less than a few minutes walk. Apparently Kamogawa is a very good place to surf, and we did see a few surfers out in the early morning. 

Then we got to Kamogawa Sea World! That day happened to be Chiba Prefectural Citizens' Day, to commemorate the establishment of the prefecture, and so attractions and whatnot all over the prefecture offered discounts or free admissions. Sea World, in fact, is offering an 800 yen discount to all residents of Chiba Prefecture for the entire month of June in celebration!

Sea World is split into several different areas: Eco-aquaroam, Tropical Island, and Rocky World, plus several stadiums where there are performances. We started off with the sea lion performance, which was a story of a family going out to play and was really cute, followed by the beluga performance, orca training (the shows were put off because apparently the orcas weren't feeling their best? Or something like that), and the dolphin show!

 And of course, we visited each other section as well, seeing everything from sea turtles and pelicans to giant crabs and jellyfish. I thought the exhibits were really well-designed (like a place underground where you could look up into the tank above through the ceiling), and of course seeing all the animals was great. I also had a lot of fun collecting the stamps they had at each region (I'm a sucker for stamps, apparently).

Kamogawa Sea World
Admission: 2800 for adults (2000 for residents of Chiba Prefecture in the month of June!), 2100 for (university) students, 1400 for junior high and below (group discounts also available)
Hours: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Access: 5 minutes by free shuttle bus from JR Awa-Kamogawa Station
Address: 1464-18 Higashi-cho, Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture 296-0041
TEL: 04-7093-5829
Website: http://www.kamogawa-seaworld.jp/english/

After our Sea World adventures and a conveyor-belt-sushi lunch, we drove up to see the Uomizuka Lookout Point (Uomizuka Tenboudai). At the top there's a statue of a goddess, Gyofu ('dawn breeze'), and an amazing view of Kamogawa!

With the wind blowing and the beautiful scenery, I think I could have stayed there for a loong time. There's also places for couples to put lockets as a signal of their commitment (which is not the first place I've seen in Japan either).

Uomizuka Tenboudai
Access: 10-minute walk from the bus stop 'Matsushima' (bus from Awa-Kamogawa Station)
Website: http://www.city.kamogawa.lg.jp/EN/0006/0007/00001371_6_7.html

Next we hopped back into the car to take a look at Seichoji Temple, which was a very pretty temple whose grounds include a thousand-year-old cedar. I forgot my camera in the car so I don't have any pictures, oops. We also walked a little further and found a mysterious structure (temple? dojo?) which is pretty unlike anything I've seen in Japan. It was pretty cool looking though!

(Not Seichoji Temple)

Seichoji Temple
Address: 322-1 Kiyosumi, Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture 299-5505
TEL: 04-7094-0525
Website (Japanese only): http://www.seichoji.com

All in all, it was a long but fun day! I think there's still plenty to see around Kamogawa or Tateyama nearby, so hopefully I'll be back around there soon. :)