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/