I got up at 4:00 am to be in Chiba City by 8:20am. It was extremely cold out and I was anxious to get on the warm bust to Kimitsu. It was my first time to Kimitsu and honestly, I'd never heard of it before.
Our first stoop was tamago (egg) paradise. We went to a small stand that sells TKG burgers or Tamago Kake Gohan burgers. The buns are made of rice and egg, bacon, mayo and green onions made up the burger. It was delicious... a perfect breakfast sandwich.
Yummy TKG burger.
And here's the sound track we listened to while waiting for our burgers...
Next, we took a short and very cold walk around a local park next to Lake Kameyama. The scenery was beautiful. The leaves were yellow, red, orange and green. There were also several people braving the cold out on their boats fishing.
Walking over the bridge.
We were grateful to get back on the bus and head to our next stop -- a boat! Luckily, to our surprise, the boat came equipped with kotatsu (tables with heaters underneath). The boat ride on was relaxing and we floated along Lake Kameyama at a leisurely pace. Much of the surroundings reminded me of Matsushima.
The wonderful kotatsu and some of the ambassadors enjoying their TKG burgers.
Showcasing beautiful lake Kameyama.
Torii gate on the lake.
After the boat ride, we ate lunch. We ate at a wonderful restaurant/hot spring. We chose between nabe, tofu and fish. I ate the tofu which was delicious and came with its own soy and yuzu sauce. Of course, the only practical thing to do after lunch is to jump in the hot spring. It was my first time at a Japanese onset and I loved it! I will definitely do it again soon.
Our lunch spot.
Our view.
My tofu lunch set.
After our relaxing lunch we set off for a walking tour of Quruli. Quruli is a quaint town in Kimitsu known for its natural well water sourced from hundreds of meters underground. People come to Quruli to fill up their water bottles for drinking and cooking. We walked around the town and visited the different wells.
Natural well water.
Walking through the town.
Before we left Quruli, we stopped at a local sake distillery. The distillery uses the natural water to make its sake, so of course I had to buy some :)
Inside the sake distillery.
Our last stop of the day was Tokyo German Village. Tokyo German Village is a huge area of land with several attractions including a mini golf course, ferris wheel, doggie park and cute German style shops. However, we were there to see the annual winter illumination. Every year, Tokyo German Village showcases thousands of lights in a wonderful winter wonderland illumination. They even have a light show that is coordinated with music. This is the perfect place to bring the family and there were certainly lots of people there. My favorite part (besides the lights) is that you can buy German products, like foods and beers.
The ferris wheel at Tokyo German Village.
German goods shop.
Light and sound show.
Awesome bubble machine. This was a favorite among the kids.
Cool illuminated circus tent.
There was so much to see in Kimitsu and I definitely want to go back. Seeing the Tokyo German Village illumination was a great way to end an exciting day.
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