mass update

So evidently it's been quite a while since I last posted here, but it's not because I haven't been doing anything! Quite the opposite, in fact - if you follow my travel blog, you might have some idea what I've been up to (updating the other blog is partly why this one has fallen a bit to the wayside, unfortunately). But here's a quick rundown of some fun stuff I've been up to outside of travel/Chiba-kun Ambassador stuff:


-practicing for and performing in a dance flashmob in Tokyo! The flashmobs were organized as part of an art festival taking place in Tokyo this month and I've only participated once so far, but it was really fun and hopefully will do it a couple of more times. The dance is super silly, but we've had quite a few people jump in on the spot, too, which is awesome. :D
- swing dancing in a Pooh bear onesie for Halloween and going on an overnight swing dance trip to an onsen in Kanagawa
- interpreting for the people like the deputy mayor (whose name I only just learned, embarrassingly; also fun fact, Chiba City can have up to three deputy mayors but currently only has two), the Omani counselor, South African ambassador, and a tourism director from one of our sister cities
- meeting and reuniting with CIR friends from all over the country at our annual CIR mid-year conference, which was much more fun than last year now that I actually know people
- eating the appropriate amount of (read: too much) food at Chiba AJET's annual Thanksgiving dinner
- story time, a school visit, a frisbee tournament, and more

Exciting things coming up:
- giving a lunchtime lecture at Keiai University to try and encourage the students to study abroad
- spending a week in Shiga Prefecture at the training session for the translation & interpretation course I'm taking (and playing around the Kyoto/Osaka area the weekend after)
- going back to the USA for the first time since I came to Japan! I've been looking forward to this since long before I bought my tickets (which was several months ago) and can hardly wait to see my family and friends and home country again. Hopefully they're just as excited to see me! :)

tour three in otaki

This weekend was our third Chiba-kun Ambassadors tour, down to Otaki in the middle of Chiba! I've actually been to Otaki a couple of time before, but we managed to mostly go to places I either hadn't been to or hadn't been able to get into (read: Otaki Castle, both times), so it worked out perfectly.

Our first stop was Yourokeikoku, which is apparently Chiba's most famous site for seeing the autumn leaves (which, in case you didn't know, are a big deal in Japan. And rightly so, I think - there's a reason fall is my favorite season!). Unfortunately, we were a little bit too early to see it in its (presumed) full glory, but there were still some pretty amazing views. We started at one end and followed a little paved path along a river, until reaching a waterfall called Awamata at the end. Taking a scenic walk in the beautiful fall weather was pretty much all I could ask for, so I really enjoyed this part of our trip. :) I think we only walked a short portion of the "waterfall walk", so I'm sure there's much more to be seen than we saw.

Yorokeikoku
Website: http://www.youroukeikoku.com/ (Japanese only)


Next we had lunch, which is pretty much always a highlight of every tour, because it's always delicious. Today was no exception, as we went to a restaurant specializing in Otaki's famous takenoko, or bamboo shoots (which was aptly named Takenoko). We had pickled (I think?) bamboo shoots, bamboo shoot rice, bamboo shoots in miso, and more. I liked the bamboo shoots in the miso soup the best, so much that I asked for seconds (no regrets!). :D

Takenoko (Reservation required)
Hours: 11:00AM - 10:00PM
Address: 181-2 Kurohara, Otaki-machi, Isumi-gun, Chiba Prefecture 298-0255
TEL: 0470-84-0368
Website: http://otaki-takenoko.main.jp/index.html (Japanese only)

Our next destination was Otaki Castle (Museum), which as I mentioned before, I failed to enter during my last two visits to Otaki. Before we went inside, we stopped to listen to part of a Buddhist performance that happened to be taking place as we got there, which had some amazing harmonies. Then we went into the castle! The inside is currently featuring an exhibit of Buddhas from the Kazusa area (where I believe Otaki is located), as well as its normal collection of "the castle and the warrior". Although unlike most castles in Japan, Otaki Castle doesn't have an open observation deck at the top, you can see around the area through some large windows and there's also a very detailed miniature recreation of Otaki Castle and its surrounding area from the past, which I liked.

The biggest hit with the ambassadors, though, was probably the area where you could try on some traditional clothing and armor! I tried on both of the (giant) helmets and they were both really heavy (despite being mostly plastic recreations), so I can't imagine how it must have felt to have a real metal helmet and all the armor. O_O

Otaki Castle Museum
Admission: 200 yen for adults, 100 yen for college/high school students, free for students under high school and senior citizens
Hours: 9:00AM - 4:30PM, Tuesday - Saturday
Address: 281 Otaki, Otaki-machi, Isumi-gun, Chiba Prefecture 298-0216
TEL: 0470-82-3007
Website: http://www2.chiba-muse.or.jp/?page_id=362

Then we went to the Akinai Shiryokan, which had many old artifacts from everyday life on display, including traditional toys, money, storage containers, what I think were calendars (? or old records of some sort), an abacus, and a scale with a lot of weights. It felt oddly comforting (if that's the right word) to see all these everyday objects in a very homey atmosphere (the building felt very Japanese to me, though I couldn't say exactly what that means). Apparently there's also a little park in the back, which we didn't go see for whatever reason.

Akinai Shiryokan
Hours: 9:00 - 17:00, Wednesday - Sunday
Address: 153-1 Kubo, Otaki-machi, Isumi-gun, Chiba Prefecture
TEL: 0470-82-2111
Website: http://www.town.otaki.chiba.jp/kankou/spot/akinai.html (Japanese only)



Our last stop was to Dental Support Otaki Station (yes, that's its real and official name) to take a look at the Isumi Railway! I've ridden the Isumi Railway and written about it before, but this time some people from the company came and explained its history to us, which was pretty interesting. I learned that there are only 28 people in the company (not including railway attendants, etc) and that you can rent out a railcar for only about $500 yen for 2-3 hours, which is super cheap! I would love to have a party or something in an Isumi Railway Moomin-themed car...:)

Isumi Railway
Website: http://www.isumirail.co.jp/ (Japanese only)

And that was our third (aka second-to-last) tour! Pretty sights, good food, and good company made for a pretty good day. :)

nikko~

It occurs to me (almost a month later) that I never posted about my trip to Nikko! It was actually my sister who wanted to go visit Nikko while my family was visiting last year (almost exactly a year ago, now that I think about it), but we didn't have enough time. Having heard that the fall leaves there are gorgeous though, I decided to go this year! We actually went at a pretty awkward time when most of the leaves in the mountains had already fallen and the ones in the town were just beginning to change color, but I did get to see lots of waterfalls and enjoy the clear mountain air with some good company.

Places we went/sights we saw: Shinkyo Bridge, Toshogu Shrine (part of the World Heritage Shrines & Temples of Nikko),  Yunoko Lake, Ryuzu Falls, Yutaki Falls, Kegon Falls

And for the rest I think I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves (because I am lazy):