Vehicles of the Gods

This event I went to is quite a while back, June 16-17th. I have some catching up to do for my blogging to be where I am now. 😮
So I’d best get started. 🙂

It’s Urayasu’s Mikoshi Festival. Held every four years, the people of Urayasu all come out to parade the mikoshi around Urayasu and into the Shinto shrine.

神輿, みこし, Mikoshi

So what is this mikoshi? It’s pronounced ‘mee-koh-shee’, written 神輿, and it is a vehicle to a deity in Japan. Here’s the wiki on it if you’re interested. I didn’t know this until someone explained it to me at the festival. Sometimes I wonder why I travel when everything’s already written down on wikipedia… No not really. 😛

People Around the Canal

First we have a barbeque at my ‘party boss’s’ house. Then head out to the mikoshi event. There’s a canal where the mikoshi are being paraded along. The streets are bustling with people from all over Chiba to come and witness the event. The smells of barbeques and the sounds of flutes blown, drums drummed, and chants chanted fill the air. The weather is fine and the mood is lively.

The people of Urayasu have been looking forward to this day for a long time, and you can really tell they’re pumped to take their mikoshi through the streets. The amount of people is huge. There’s also lots of traffic. However it doesn’t take away from the cheerful and energetic atmosphere. One thing I notice this day is the high tension (in a good way) the people have as the mikoshi passes by. It’s really cool.

On the Way to the Shrine

Good Food and Drinks

There are food stalls out, as with any festival, and the people are drinking and eating merrily as the day progresses.

Towards the end of the day the mikoshi makes it to the end of its journey. It is to be put into the Shinto shrine so the god can live there. Here the people were chanting “mae da! mae da!” which means “in front! in front!” Here the crowds are most densely packed eager to see it get to the shrine.

In Front of the Shrine “前だ！”

After a fun day at the festival I get back in the train to Kamagaya.
Much faster than by mikoshi. 😉

I’ve made a video of this event that you can see on youtube. 😀
For more pictures, these are available in my album on facebook.

If you have any comments/questions/ etc. Feel free to leave them in the responses below. 🙂

Chōshi: The Tip of the Ear

Sunday we, the Chiba+Kun Ambassadors, went on our first Chiba tour to Chōshi.

Wait! Where are we going? Where is this Chōshi?!
Relax, it’s a city on the tip of our dog Chiba-kun’s ear.
If this sounds fishy to you, you’d be right.
Chōshi’s Fishing Port has the largest catch of sardines, bonito and tuna fish throughout Chiba prefecture. 😛 Chōshi’s main catch is the sardine いわし.
Okay, I’ll stop fishing for jokes and show you with this picture I snagged from wikipedia.

That highlighted tip of Chiba-kun’s ear is Chōshi.

Chōshi giving us a warm welcome!

We leave in the travel bus bright and early in the morning and arrive two hours later to the beating of drums!

The performance has several different songs, each with their own story. There is also a special dance in which the Taiko drummers hold the taiko supported by a beam of wood and dance around in circles. (video coming soon)

Food Adventure

Where’s the food?!
Next we head off to eat one of Chōshi’s specialties: Fish! Chōshi’s sashimi (raw cuts of fish) is probably the best I’ve ever tasted. Very fresh. Raw fish should be fresh yes, but it could have come straight from the docks judging the taste. I also had some light-battered tempura shrimp. Delicious!

I could eat that meal again and again.

So what’s for desert?
How about some soy sauce ice cream? If it doesn’t sound good, just trust me, it really is a treat. The first impression is that it tastes of caramel and coffee, licking on it also has an essence of cheese. So it has quite a bit of a cheesecake flavour. However, it is definitely a unique type of ice cream not to be confused with these tamer variants. 😛 We even see the shopkeepers pour in the soy sauce that mixes with the ice cream!

Soy sauce ice cream: A must try!

I have to confess there is more. The next one on the menu is just as strange, perhaps even more so in taste. Soggy rice cracker ice cream is the extremely unappealing name I shall give this one. Not because it’s bad, but just to scare those of you with less adventurous taste buds off. 😉 You see, this ice cream is sweet yet it has salty chunks of cracker in it. The result: An exotic mixture of all sorts of flavours, usually enjoyed separately, popping up in the mouth. It makes me think of Willy Wonka’s factory by how unique it is.

Onward!

Next we take a train past two soy sauce factories; Higeta and Yamasa, both are based in Chōshi. Soy sauce is a thing here. 😉 Then we stop by Inubōsaki Lighthouse, created in 1874 by a Scot called Richard Brunton. It has survived many earthquakes, and still stands fully capable. There is also a museum section concerning the lighthouse. We climb to the top for a good view of the area, and the lighthouse delivers.

There is something romantic about lighthouses I like a lot. Their beacons guiding ships through fearsome storms and treacherous fog, always standing tall and firm. Maybe you’ve seen the kid’s show ‘Around the Twist’, I guess that contributed to the cool and mysterious image of lighthouses I have.

A view from the lighthouse.

Great views and a bit of international history.

I have more pictures uploaded for the public on my FaceBook account.

The Entrance to the Observation Plateau

Another point of interest we stop by before heading home is an observation plateau called 地球の丸く見える丘展望館. Here we have a great panoramic view of all of Chōshi, and more. On a good day you can see Mt Fuji. There are many things to see. The pictures are on my FaceBook. (A video in which I attempt to capture this 360 degree view is on its way to my Youtube channel.)

The tour guides tell us they have the Eastern variety of the white cliffs of Dover here. (It does look quite similar.)

The trip to Chōshi has been swell. Great views, great food, and a unique history as a great fishing port. There is a tour booklet being produced in English which will make exploring Chōshi easier for non-Japanese speakers. It’s a nice day out if you are in Chiba, unless you have other fish to fry. 😉

I hope you enjoyed my account of this tour of Chōshi.
Please leave any questions/ requests/ remarks in the responses below.

Cheers,
Kyle

My New Job: What’s a Chiba-Kun?!

Hi everyone!

Chiba-Kun Standing Next to Me 🙂

I just got a new job as a Chiba-Kun ambassador! 😀
Now you may ask: What’s a Chiba-Kun?
Well, this is Chiba-Kun!

Chiba-Kun is a big red dog. In fact, he is a very big red dog as he is derived from the geographical shape of Chiba Prefecture. Chiba-kun is also a bit of a play on words, which I’ll explain assuming you don’t know Japanese.

-Kun is an affix used for guys’ names in informal situations (in stead of -san). So you would either call me (mr Mullen) Maren-san or (Kyle) Kairu-kun.

Now for that word joke: The word for prefecture is also an affix; Chiba prefecture is called Chiba-ken -> turn this to -kun and you have a big red dog called Chiba-kun. Ha!

Here is a quote describing Chiba-Kun taken from Chiba Prefecture’s Tourism Website:

He is very curious and loves to take on a challenge.  When facing something unknown, he becomes even more courageous and passionate, and his body shines red.
Living in Chiba Prefecture, blessed with a warm climate, rich nature and abundant seafood and agricultural products, he has a weakness for tasty foods and loves to eat.  He is a lovable character who can sometimes be mischievous.

In other words, I am Chiba-kun. (Including the redness and weakness for tasty foods!)

The thing sticking out is his BELLYBUTTON, just to be clear.

Here is a good picture showing him Geographically.

Now you know what Chiba-kun is, you’re probably wondering: What’s a Chiba-Kun ambassador?
Well let’s look at that quote again, it quite aptly describes what I’ll be doing: Going into the unknown with passion! (also eating lots of tasty food 🙂 )

I’m going to try to find as many cool/ fun/ interesting/ good things to do in Chiba and I want to let you know about them. So that maybe, if you’re looking for a good holiday spot, you can enjoy the charms of Chiba prefecture the way I have.
I’m going to do my best to explore and explain the best parts of Chiba.

This is the start of much more to come! I hope my blog will help, inform and/or entertain you as I travel down this new, unknown road, and convince you that Chiba is worth a visit!

You will find all Chiba related posts in my ‘Welcome to Chiba!‘ category. You will also find more Chiba related pictures and videos on my FaceBook and my Youtube Channel.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or requests regarding what I cover in my travels – I am all ears.

Of course any other comments are also greatly appreciated. 🙂
Feel free to write them in the responses below.

Cheers,
Kyle