This past Sunday (St. Patrick's Day) Gordon and I went to the Kozaki Sake Festival. Kozaki is a town about 30 minutes away by train from Tohnosho. We figured St. Patrick's Day was a good excuse to go sample all the sake we could handle. And we did just that.
A sign for the festival. Kozaki has two sake breweries that are over 300 years old!
I didn't know what to expect when I showed up. I had never been to Kozaki or the sake festival, but when I noticed how many people were getting off at the train stop, I knew this was worth checking out. We took a free shuttle from the station to the main street where the festival was taking place. Tents lined the street with venders selling sake, food and crafts.
The street was crowded with festival goers and it was a beautiful day.
Gordon and I started walking the street and noticed people were filling out forms and receiving bags. A kind English speaking stranger helped us fill out the form and in return we received free sake glasses.
We received two of these cute sophisticated sake glasses.
Next on our agenda: sample some sake. We stumbled upon the first brewery and were greeted with amazake (a sweet, cloudy sake with low alcoholic content).
Amazake is cloudy and not clear because it is not filtered like other sake and contains starch from the rice. It is usually served warm.
Let the sampling continue. Next was a booth selling shots of sake for 100 yen ($1). Yes, please.
Next, we went into the brewery to sample their sake using our new sake glasses. This is where all the sake enthusiasts were gathered. Each sake was neatly labeled with a number, percent alcohol, what kind of sake it was and the price. If you liked what you tried all you had to remember was the number which, after an afternoon of sampling sake, might have been difficult for some.
Inside the sake brewery. There were about 20 different sakes you could try... for free!
Here's where you could buy the sake you liked.
It was great to try all the different kinds of sake back-to-back. I could easily taste the differences between them and was surprised to notice how different they each tasted. There was staff available that poured the samples, however, some overzealous and overeager festival goers poured generous "samples" of sake for Gordon and I.
After sampling everything at the first brewery, we headed to the second one. At this brewery, people wore numbers on their heads indicating the sake they were offering.
After sampling all the sake at the festival, I ended up buying a delicious yuzu sake. Yuzu is a fruit... its like a cross between a lemon and an orange.
Buying yuzu sake.
The thing I appreciated most about this festival is that it had something for everyone. Don't like sake? (Are you crazy?!) That's o.k.! There were plenty of other beverages available including coffee, teas, soda and smoothies. Are you hungry? Well, what do you want... takoyaki, kebab, miso soup, yakisoba, taiyaki, yakitori, ramen, gyoza, daifuku, bread, donuts? The festival was also family friendly with plenty of entertainment for the kids.
Here are some of the foods that were available:
Gyoza.
Fish.
Daifuku! My favorite! Daifuku is mochi filled with anko (sweet bean paste).
Senbei (rice crackers).
Steamed buns.
Donuts.
Imagawayaki.
Here is some of the entertainment we saw at the festival:
Singing.
Drum and flute show.
Making mochi.
Dancing with fans.
Hula dancing.
Magic and stunts.
Gordon and I really enjoyed our time at the festival. My only complaint is that the festival is only one day. I would definitely go again and think the its a wonderful way to get people to experience Japanese sake and the quaint town of Kozaki.
Side note: After searching for the mysterious Chiba-kun all day, I finally found him right before we left the festival.
Tohnosho is known for its strawberries. Before you come into town there are signs with strawberries on them advertising the famous "ichigo". I've tried Tohnosho strawberries (and they're delicious!) but I have yet to do an all-you-can-eat strawberry marathon. You can go to one of the many strawberry greenhouses in Tohnosho and for about 1,000-2,000 yen eat all the strawberries you want for 30 minutes. I'm looking forward to getting sick off of strawberries, as many people usually do, and will report back on my experience.
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.
Yesterday, Gordon and I made a trip to Chiba city. We wanted to spend a relaxing day at Starbucks, reading and studying (Chiba has about 4 Starbucks within a mile radius). After the sun went down, we got a spectacular view of all the Christmas lights and decorations around the city. I wish the pictures did them justice.
Christmas trees and lights outside the SOGO department store.
Merry Christmas!
Small Christmas trees on the walk up to SOGO.
Beautiful white, silver, gold and blue decorations.
I love the snowflake ornaments!
Trees strung with lights near the Mitsukoshi department store.
The lights by the Mitsukoshi department store can be seen from above if you ride the Chiba Urban Monorail. If you have time I recommend stopping by Chiba Port Tower to see the impressive Christmas tree illumination. How often do you get to see a 100 meter tall Christmas tree? Here are the details:
Each year from late November to late December, a giant Christmas tree appears on the outside of Chiba Port Tower. Approximately 3,500 lights decorate the tower’s surface to create a 100 meter high, 30 meter wide Christmas tree about as tall as a normal 30 floor building. Lights will “snow” down on this tree, making for a festive mood.
Date: Friday, November 23 – Tuesday, December 25 Weekdays 17:00-20:00, weekends/holidays 17:00-22:00 ※Dec. 22-25 17:00-24:00
Place: Chiba Port Tower (1 Chiba-minato, Chuo-ku Chiba City)
Admission: 410 yen for adults, 200 yen for elementary and junior high school students, free for kindergarteners and younger
Access: 12 minutes by foot from Chiba Minato Station (Chiba Urban Monorail or JR Keiyo Line)
