Short trip
We went to a place called Tateyama. It would be a boring place by most standards but I was so relieved to be out of that rats nest that it was quite calm. An incredibly overpriced sandwich awaited me at the station cafe while we waited for the shuttle bus to take us to our hotel. It came promptly and we were carried off to a Sushi restaurant first. The restaurant was average but the prices said it wasn't. Yoshiko thought the chef may had been a former "Yankee". The sort of dudes that wear those ugly shiny bomber jackets with tigers stitched on them and slick their hair back and ride customized scooters. According to Yoshiko, upon guaduation from High School this Yankee had to find some legitimate work so he became a sushi chef in the middle of nowhere in Chiba.
The hotel was fine and so was the weather. They had a wonderful gimmick called a "wine bath". They actually put wine powder in the water so it turns red. We went for a walk looking for a temple in the hills on a nice hiking course. We got messed up with the map and never found the trail we wanted. We strolled along the beach and checked out the giant concrete jacks that are scattered all along the Japanese coastline. Obstructing waves where they don't need to be obstructed and lining the pockets of the concrete industry, Japan's being the worlds largest. These jacks are more a product of the seventies and go go eighties. Unnecessary construction is akin to unnecessary surgery but done on the earth, basically for the same objective. There is still plenty going to even today.
The next day it was an absolute squall. The rain was trouncing down hard. We got the hotel shuttle back to Tateyama. We had to wait twenty minutes for the next train. Upon exploring the station, I found a whale meat lunch box shop. Whale to go! Make mine rare or endangered at least.
We caught a train to our next destination, Chickura. It was another small town in the Chiba countryside. It was pouring down and we had to have lunch. Yoshiko led the way down the nearly abandon main street as we were getting soaked. After ten minutes that seemed more like an hour we came to our destination... and Italian Restaurant. My first reaction was we can eat Italian food anytime we want in Tokyo and we practically swam to get to this place. Inside the theme was Hawaiian, the roof was high and made out of aluminum; the restaurant may have been a storage shed at one time. The noise from the rain was thunderous and I could barely hear the waitress over the din. We downed some whale sashimi and had some rissotto and coffee. The rain was coming down really hard now.
(I'm in the restaurant and the noise is drilling my brain. By the way, they don't serve anchor steam beer, it's just decor.)
Fortunately the chef offered us a lift to the hotel and we accepted without hesitation.
The place was a nice bed and breakfast in a popular surfing resort area. Being that is was winter and a total wash out there was nothing to do but get my butt kicked in Othello and work on my drawings. Eventually the clouds lifted and I did a spooky walk in the dark. The dinner was sort of half assed and he had the temerity to serve ice cream for dessert in forty degree weather. The next morning he pulled one on us again not serving coffee or tea. Then we saw he has a "special coffee", for 400 yen. The coffee struck out and so did we. The day featured extemely blustery winds. They were just ripping across the thin tip of the Chiba peninsula. The train we rode on stopped because of the danger caused by the wind. Our schedule got screwed up but we finally made it to our next destination.
At Ohara station we caught the Isumi train. It's the cutest darned thing you've ever seen. It's just one car diesel that puts along the countryside, through fields and woods, to tiny near desolate stations in the Chiba countryside. We made our way to Otaki; a small town with an interesting history.
Otaki is the location of Otaki castle. The warlord of Otaki castle, Lord Honda, was a subordinate of the infamous Iasu Tokogawa. Tokogawa would become the first Shogun of Edo era. The overlord that brought all Japans regions under his fists. The Tokogawas went on to rule Japan for the next two hundred and fifty years, with many generations of Shoguns. During Honda's time, Iasu had not quite achieved total power, but he was a major player. In 1603 a strange occurrence happened in Honda's neck of the woods. A Spanish gallian seeking Mexico stopped off the waters near Ohara. The Spaniards were brought before Honda. Normally the edict would be to Kill the gajin Christians. However Honda spared their lives, he even found their company quite favorable. He then sent the Spaniards to Iasu Tokogawa in Edo Castle(the city that later becomes Tokyo), and they party there as well before being sent on their merry way.
To celebrate this moment of international harmony, the city of Otaki created MEXICO STREET. A full 300 meters of tiled sidewalk, featuring the amazing STATUE OF INTERNATIONAL HARMONY.
Standing a full four meters in height. This amazing assembleage features; a corroding sphere with both the flags of Japan and Mexico rotting away, a medallion dripping brown corrosion off the gleaming white paint job. Perhaps the most remarkable image was the three silver eagle statues whose wings had fallen off and had been re-attached as bundles with wire. Mexico Street became the big joke of the day as Yoshiko re enacted the possible scenarios of the city council proposing the project. One of the points we kept hitting on was how there were more direct routes to the castle, but you MUST WALK UP MEXICO STREET to actually arrive at the castle entrance... slick!
The castle turned out the be a museum and we checked out some of the nice costumes. The town of Otaki itself is not bad either. Though sadly a lot of the nice downtown area is built near the train station, with very light tourism. Most of the action happens near the roads as the countryside is dominated by car culture. The Honda family ancestors actually still live in the town in an old quaint Edo period home.
An old sake factory.
We caught some good luck as we arrived back in Ohara. The super express train to Shinjuku pulled up ten minutes later and we were on our way home. Thanks for reading.
The hotel was fine and so was the weather. They had a wonderful gimmick called a "wine bath". They actually put wine powder in the water so it turns red. We went for a walk looking for a temple in the hills on a nice hiking course. We got messed up with the map and never found the trail we wanted. We strolled along the beach and checked out the giant concrete jacks that are scattered all along the Japanese coastline. Obstructing waves where they don't need to be obstructed and lining the pockets of the concrete industry, Japan's being the worlds largest. These jacks are more a product of the seventies and go go eighties. Unnecessary construction is akin to unnecessary surgery but done on the earth, basically for the same objective. There is still plenty going to even today.
The next day it was an absolute squall. The rain was trouncing down hard. We got the hotel shuttle back to Tateyama. We had to wait twenty minutes for the next train. Upon exploring the station, I found a whale meat lunch box shop. Whale to go! Make mine rare or endangered at least.
We caught a train to our next destination, Chickura. It was another small town in the Chiba countryside. It was pouring down and we had to have lunch. Yoshiko led the way down the nearly abandon main street as we were getting soaked. After ten minutes that seemed more like an hour we came to our destination... and Italian Restaurant. My first reaction was we can eat Italian food anytime we want in Tokyo and we practically swam to get to this place. Inside the theme was Hawaiian, the roof was high and made out of aluminum; the restaurant may have been a storage shed at one time. The noise from the rain was thunderous and I could barely hear the waitress over the din. We downed some whale sashimi and had some rissotto and coffee. The rain was coming down really hard now.
(I'm in the restaurant and the noise is drilling my brain. By the way, they don't serve anchor steam beer, it's just decor.)
Fortunately the chef offered us a lift to the hotel and we accepted without hesitation.
The place was a nice bed and breakfast in a popular surfing resort area. Being that is was winter and a total wash out there was nothing to do but get my butt kicked in Othello and work on my drawings. Eventually the clouds lifted and I did a spooky walk in the dark. The dinner was sort of half assed and he had the temerity to serve ice cream for dessert in forty degree weather. The next morning he pulled one on us again not serving coffee or tea. Then we saw he has a "special coffee", for 400 yen. The coffee struck out and so did we. The day featured extemely blustery winds. They were just ripping across the thin tip of the Chiba peninsula. The train we rode on stopped because of the danger caused by the wind. Our schedule got screwed up but we finally made it to our next destination.
At Ohara station we caught the Isumi train. It's the cutest darned thing you've ever seen. It's just one car diesel that puts along the countryside, through fields and woods, to tiny near desolate stations in the Chiba countryside. We made our way to Otaki; a small town with an interesting history.
Otaki is the location of Otaki castle. The warlord of Otaki castle, Lord Honda, was a subordinate of the infamous Iasu Tokogawa. Tokogawa would become the first Shogun of Edo era. The overlord that brought all Japans regions under his fists. The Tokogawas went on to rule Japan for the next two hundred and fifty years, with many generations of Shoguns. During Honda's time, Iasu had not quite achieved total power, but he was a major player. In 1603 a strange occurrence happened in Honda's neck of the woods. A Spanish gallian seeking Mexico stopped off the waters near Ohara. The Spaniards were brought before Honda. Normally the edict would be to Kill the gajin Christians. However Honda spared their lives, he even found their company quite favorable. He then sent the Spaniards to Iasu Tokogawa in Edo Castle(the city that later becomes Tokyo), and they party there as well before being sent on their merry way.
To celebrate this moment of international harmony, the city of Otaki created MEXICO STREET. A full 300 meters of tiled sidewalk, featuring the amazing STATUE OF INTERNATIONAL HARMONY.
Standing a full four meters in height. This amazing assembleage features; a corroding sphere with both the flags of Japan and Mexico rotting away, a medallion dripping brown corrosion off the gleaming white paint job. Perhaps the most remarkable image was the three silver eagle statues whose wings had fallen off and had been re-attached as bundles with wire. Mexico Street became the big joke of the day as Yoshiko re enacted the possible scenarios of the city council proposing the project. One of the points we kept hitting on was how there were more direct routes to the castle, but you MUST WALK UP MEXICO STREET to actually arrive at the castle entrance... slick!
The castle turned out the be a museum and we checked out some of the nice costumes. The town of Otaki itself is not bad either. Though sadly a lot of the nice downtown area is built near the train station, with very light tourism. Most of the action happens near the roads as the countryside is dominated by car culture. The Honda family ancestors actually still live in the town in an old quaint Edo period home.
An old sake factory.
We caught some good luck as we arrived back in Ohara. The super express train to Shinjuku pulled up ten minutes later and we were on our way home. Thanks for reading.
posted by lyle Nisenholz at 4:32 AM
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