Chiba
I'm hanging out in our hotel room in Tokyo watching some Japanese television, updating the blog, and contemplating repacking for my departure tomorrow. Rochelle headed off to class a bit ago, and I will leave to go meet her in about an hour so we can head out to see a few last things and grab dinner.
We slept in a bit this morning as the rain was really coming down and we didn't have anything to rush off to. Today was our day to see Chiba (the suburb of Tokyo where Rochelle lives and works, in case I hadn't mentioned that before). I packed up my stuff and we caught a bus to Chiba station to try to avoid the rain as much as possible. I put my bags in a locker at the station (which was very convenient), and we went to catch the Chiba Urban Monorail a few stops down to see stuff in the heart of Chiba.
The Chiba Urban Monorail is pretty cool, as it is a suspended monorail (notably, the longest in the world). We got off at Yoshikawa-Koen and headed to find some lunch. We went to get omurice, basically an omelette over rice mixed with ketchup. While it didn't sound all that good, it was very enjoyable. I chose one that had a fried shrimp and crab croquette, all covered in a brown gravy. Additionally, we got to enjoy a salad bar and try some different Japanese drinks (including melon soda and calpis).
From lunch, we headed out to the street, checking out a new building which houses the Chiba planetarium and science museum, a Shinto shrine, and an old building which was incorporated into a building in the 1980s that houses the Chiba City Museum of Art.
After stopping at a store that sold various trinkets from Chiba, we wandered through Chiba Park to see a large pond filled with lotus plants cultivated from a 2000 year old seed found in Chiba and finished up at the city's library. We then caught a train to Shinbashi, where we are staying tonight so we can wake up very, very early tomorrow to see the tuna auction at nearby Tsukiji.
Now, to pack and get ready to meet up with Rochelle for a trip to Shinjuku to visit an alley a friend of mine recommended.
We slept in a bit this morning as the rain was really coming down and we didn't have anything to rush off to. Today was our day to see Chiba (the suburb of Tokyo where Rochelle lives and works, in case I hadn't mentioned that before). I packed up my stuff and we caught a bus to Chiba station to try to avoid the rain as much as possible. I put my bags in a locker at the station (which was very convenient), and we went to catch the Chiba Urban Monorail a few stops down to see stuff in the heart of Chiba.
The Chiba Urban Monorail is pretty cool, as it is a suspended monorail (notably, the longest in the world). We got off at Yoshikawa-Koen and headed to find some lunch. We went to get omurice, basically an omelette over rice mixed with ketchup. While it didn't sound all that good, it was very enjoyable. I chose one that had a fried shrimp and crab croquette, all covered in a brown gravy. Additionally, we got to enjoy a salad bar and try some different Japanese drinks (including melon soda and calpis).
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| Salad, bread covered in sugar, cocoa, and a Japanese sweet topping, and melon soda. |
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| My omurice. Note how red the rice is from the ketchup. |
After stopping at a store that sold various trinkets from Chiba, we wandered through Chiba Park to see a large pond filled with lotus plants cultivated from a 2000 year old seed found in Chiba and finished up at the city's library. We then caught a train to Shinbashi, where we are staying tonight so we can wake up very, very early tomorrow to see the tuna auction at nearby Tsukiji.
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| The atrium of the Chiba Library. |
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