monorail matsuri

So whenever people ask me what there is to see/do in Chiba City, I always mention that we have the world's longest suspended monorail. It's not really something to see or do (though obviously it is a stellar way to get around), but it's definitely one of my favorite things about Chiba, so when last weekend the monorail had their annual festival, I had to go check it out!

The festival took place at the monorail train depot, which I was never aware existed but is apparently where cars that aren't in use are kept (or something like that). It's also right next to the Zoological Park, which I've also never been to but will have to get to soon...

Anyway, I got there and promptly ran into my supervisor and his family, which was actually not at all surprising because he used to work in the section in charge of the monorail and probably loves it more than anybody else I know, haha. They were kind enough to invite me to have lunch with them, so we managed to procure some seats and have some of the famous monorail festival curry! Apparently it's something you can only get at the monorail festival and is very popular (there was quite a line, actually), and according to my supervisor the taste changes a little every year. And it was in fact very tasty! I had a good time eating and chatting while also listening to a (presumably local?) band play hits on a stage nearby.




After that I wandered off by myself to explore the rest of the festival, which included lots of food stalls, games and things like digging up sweet potatoes (not sure what it had to do the monorail, but...), a mini flea market, and more. One activity they had was actually the chance to clean a monorail car, which was so popular that only people who had registered in advance could do it! Personally I don't see the appeal, but I think it's a great idea - people get to try something they normally can't experience and the monorail cars get cleaned for free, haha.


What I thought the most interesting was an exhibit of the monorail cars inside their warehouse (?), where they explained various things about the parts of the monorail and how it worked, with the cars open to show the equipment inside. There was also a section where kids could try out the control panel and see what it's like to steer the monorail (if there hadn't been a huge line I'd totally have done it, too).




There was also an exhibit in another area that was some pretty impressive model railway tracks, one shaped like a city (complete with an AEON mall with an actual moving ad screen!) and the other with many different types of trains overlapping. I was also happy to see a copy (or maybe the original?) of the certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records certifying the Chiba Urban Monorail as the world's longest suspended monorail! I had actually looked it up in the Guinness Book of World Records before at the library (it's in there, I promise), but it was pretty cool to see the certificate.


All in all, I thought the festival was pretty cool! Most of the people there were families with small children (since there was lots for them to enjoy), but being a big fan of the monorail made even around wandering by myself interesting, haha. If you ever come to Chiba City, definitely try taking a ride on the monorail! Right now there's one car decorated in the theme of an anime whose setting is modeled after Chiba City (Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, if you're curious), and the stop names are actually voiced by the voice actors from the show, which I only discovered when I got on it on my way back and thought was pretty cool! :)