first chiba-kun ambassador tour!

My posts are a little out of order now, but a few weekends ago was this year's first Chiba-kun Ambassador tour! It was the first time that (almost) all of us had gotten together since the appointment ceremony, so I was glad for the chance to get to know the others a little better (and visit new places, of course)!

Super cool doors!

After loading on a bus bright and early in the morning, we were off to our first destination, the Kikkoman Soy Sauce Factory in Noda! I'm not gonna lie, this is the destination I was most looking forward to, because soy sauce is definitely one of my kitchen staples, so I was really interested in learning about how it's made.

After a long and lively bus ride (all of us in the back were evidently pretty excited for the day), we arrived at the factory, where we were greeted by a TV crew and the museum staff. We started off with a video explaining the history and process of making soy sauce (which I won't go into detail about so you'll just have to go see it yourself), before going on a tour of the museum area. We saw more about soy sauce production, including interactive spaces to do things like smell the different stages of the process and glimpses inside the actual factory and at the storage containers for the materials. One thing I remember particularly is the parts showing ways that the byproducts are reused, such as making soybean oil or being used in food for livestock - I always love learning about different ways of reuse, especially when it's a huge company doing it. Also, most of the signs explaining the processes were written in English as well as Japanese, which was awesome (because sometimes I am too lazy to read Japanese -.-').

A glimpse into the factory!

Making good use of the by-products

Kikkoman products around the world

Soy sauce ice cream!

We also got to see what (in my understanding) was both an exhibit of the traditional way of making soy sauce (with some cool high-tech screens that put holographic people in the scene) and also the actual place where they make soy sauce for the imperial family. (Though again, I'm not sure if I understood that right).  And then we went back into the main area for the chance to try some soy sauce ice cream! I was a little suspicious at first, but actually, it was delicious! :D We also each received a little bottle of 'raw' (unpasteurized; apparently it's recently gotten pretty popular) soy sauce and some seasoning, which was awesome.

Kikkoman Soy Sauce Factory in Noda, Chiba (Monoshiri Shoyukan, Noda Koujou)
Reservations required, groups of 2 or more (TEL 04-7123-5136)
Hours: 9:00 - 16:00 (Tours at 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00)
Admission: Free!
Address: 110 Noda, Noda-shi, Chiba-ken 278-0037
Access: 3-minute walk from Nodashi Station on the Tobu Noda Line
Website (Japanese): http://www.kikkoman.co.jp/enjoys/factory/noda.html , Kikkoman International: http://www.kikkoman.com/soysaucemuseum/index.shtml

Soy sauce pasta

Of course, right after most of us had happily eaten yummy ice cream, then it was time for lunch! We went to a nearby Italian restaurant named Comesta, whose menu included dishes made with the local soy sauce. I forgot my camera on the bus (fail), but it was a really cute restaurant, with accents like individual towel trays with Italian phrases written on them! Lunch consisted of salad, pizza (two kinds), and pasta, which I think used the moromi that is created as part of the soy sauce-making process, plus soy sauce gelato for dessert! It was a ton of food, but it was all very tasty - the soy sauce gave a unique kind of rich flavor to the pasta that I really liked.

Comesta
Hours:  11:00 - 22:00 (22:30 on Friday/Saturday)
Address:  238 Tsutsumine, Noda-shi, Chiba-ken 278-0021
TEL: 04-7121-0010
Website (Japanese): http://comestadome.jp/menu/index.html

Our next stop was Hondoji Temple in Matsudo! I didn't know what to expect (other than a temple, obviously), but this actually kind of blew me away. Apparently Hondoji Temple is very famous for its hydrangeas in the summer, and after being there I can definitely see why! I don't think my words can do them much justice, so I'll just put up lots of pictures instead. :)

Hondoji Temple
Admission: 500 for adults, 300 for elementary school students
Hours: 8:00 - 16:30
Address: 63 Hiraga, Matsudo-shi, Chiba-ken 270-0002

Access: 15-minute walk from JR Kitakogane Station
Website (Japanese): http://www.hondoji.jp/

So peaceful.

And finally, our last stop was the Tojo Residence (or the Tojo-tei House), which used to be a residence for the younger brother of the last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate! We split into two groups and were given a tour of the building - I'm also pretty sure our tour guides were local volunteers, which is awesome. To be totally honest, I didn't really understand most of the explanation (I know very little about Japanese history and was also practically falling asleep on my feet at this point), but even just looking around was interesting. It was a very spacious place, and we got to see things like the main entrance for guests vs. the side entrance for staff, a tiny bathtub that was used by everybody, the old toilets (no longer in use, naturally), and more. The most stunning part for me was the view from one of the rooms, which overlooked a gorgeous green garden, which was apparently modeled after European gardens after the owner visited France. There wasn't very much in it, but the brilliance of the color was beautiful and soothing at the same time - after our tour ended and we had some free time, I went back just to gaze at it a little more. Apparently you can even go into it once a month, but unfortunately not on the day we visited. There's also the Tojo Museum of History nearby, but we didn't have time to visit it. Anyway, the Tojo Residence was a cool glimpse into some Japanese history!

Bathtub!

Tojo Residence
Admission: 150 yen for adults for just the residence, 240 for the residence and museum
Hours: 9:30 - 16:30 (Closed Mondays)
Address: 714-1 Matsudo, Matsudo-shi, Chiba-ken 271-0092
Access: 10-minute walk from JR Matsudo Station
Website (Japanese): http://www.city.matsudo.chiba.jp/tojo

At the end of the day, I think we were all pretty exhausted and basically just passed out on the bus ride home, but I think that should also be taken as a sign of how successful our first tour was! I feel like I probably wouldn't have ever made it out to these places on my own, so I'm really grateful to have been able to visit them with the Chiba-kun Ambassadors. Definitely looking forward to our next tour, too! :D