KFJ: Keep Finding Japan Travel off the Beaten Track Vol. 38 Chiba

1. Chiba Prefecture: So Urban, So Rural

 For many, like me, Chiba Prefecture is the first of the forty-seven that they ever set foot on, albeit in the purely technical sense of landing at Narita Airport on arrival. These days there are a lot more international flights via Haneda, safely in Tokyo, but until the opening of its international terminal in 2010, most foreign flights came through Narita. But of course, Chiba Prefecture offers a lot more than an airport.
 Just as Narita International Airport, formerly known as “New Tokyo International Airport,” is located in Chiba Prefecture, so is “Tokyo Disney Resort”. Chiba, along with Saitama and Kanagawa, is part of the accepted ‘Greater Tokyo’ conurbation, though it probably contains more remote countryside beyond the sprawl than the other two. For travellers based in Tokyo and without a lot of time who want to get out and see some more rural Japan, Chiba can be a good option. 

2. History: Power Broker for the Shoguns

 What is now Chiba Prefecture was historically divided into three traditional provinces: Shimosa, Kazusa and Awa (not to be confused with the Shikoku Awa Province). Shimosa is the northernmost part and includes the Tokyo urban overflow and Narita Airport; Kazusa is the middle of the peninsula, and Awa at the tip. Even today there is a sense of these old provinces. 
 Chiba’s location meant that the Chiba clan was instrumental in breaking with imperial power in the twelfth century, giving support to Minamoto no Yoritomo and helping the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1185, marking the establishment of warrior rule in Japan. 
 Chiba suffered badly in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake but was also guilty of some of the worst excesses of blaming Koreans and other minorities for the earthquake, with false rumours and vigilante violence.  A memorial to the atrocity is to be found near Yachiyodai Station.
 Chiba also suffered in the 1945 firebombings, like all of the Greater Tokyo area. Its postwar recovery was crowned with the 1978 opening of Narita Airport as the main airport for the Tokyo area at the time. 

3. Places to See

Chiba City: Go hang

 The eponymous capital of the prefecture is essentially a suburban extension of Tokyo’s metropolitan area, but it does have the distinction of having the world’s longest suspended monorail, at over fifteen kilometres. Otherwise, this city is probably best used as a convenient base to stay, as it is a convenient location, with most of the urban amenities of a big city without the massive crowds of central Tokyo. 

 There is a castle site here, Inohara Castle or Chiba Castle, claimed as ‘Japan’s most controversial castle’ by castle guru Adam Turner. The site is a genuine historical site and was occupied from the 12th to the 15th centuries, and some earthworks remain, but the large concrete mock reconstructed keep here is in no way the type of building that would have existed here. Even the ishigaki are fake. Stil it’s a good place to have some cans if you need a bit of relaxation.

Narita Airport: Gateway to Japan for so many

 Chiba is famous for hosting one of the busiest and most important airports in Japan, Narita, Airport, formerly New Tokyo International Airport, and once the busiest airport in Japan, though the opening of Haneda’s international terminal in 2010 brought that airport back into the limelight. Nevertheless, Narita is where a lot of people first set foot in Japan.

Narita City: Temple Town in the shadow of the airport.

 While the name Narita means an airport to many people, it should never be forgotten that Narita City is also a town worth having a look at. The great temple of Narita-san, officially Narita-san Shin Shoji, is a popular and impressive place and can occupy a morning or an afternoon. 
 The fun begins almost as soon as you step out of the (JR or Keisei) station, as you progress along the winding sando (approach road), which is a good twenty-minute walk, even if you don’t stop to take in some of the thrills on the way. Here are restaurants and shops selling all sorts of goods, statues of the animals of the Chinese zodiac and a good-natured bustling feel.

 The temple itself is an enormous sight and combines some modern buildings for practical administration with some lovely historic ones. There are not one but two pagodas, a lovely 18th century three storey one near the main hall, and, easy to miss if you don’t check, the enormous pagoda of peace, built in 1984, and with an entire temple building at its base.
 Other things not to miss are the absolutely charming gardens of Narita-san Koen, which combines woods, ponds, waterfalls and a mix of Japanese and western styles to make a wonderful spot to wander and relax, and the Calligraphy Museum, which has displays of some remarkable examples of the art, with English explanations available for many exhibits via a QR code.

Sawara: Another little Edo

 Right up top near the border, the town of Sawara boasts many lovely old houses built along canals, and a fascinating bridge that pours out water. Spend a night here, and enjoy its many attractive restaurants and then spend a morning wandering the streets and enjoying the old buildings

Sakura: Nothing to do with Cherries

 The old samurai town of Sakura may seem to share its name with Japan’s most famous blossoming tree, but the kanji 佐倉 are quite different from the blossom 桜, and just a coincidence of pronunciation. The town boasts some samurai homes and quiet streets as well as two castle ruins: Sakura Castle, dating from the seventeenth century and Motosakura Castle (‘original Sakura Castle’), its precursor, a fifteenth century establishment. Neither has more than earthen ruins, but the town has a charming historical atmosphere. 

Disney Resort: Two to choose from

 It might seem rather pointless going to Tokyo Disney Resort, when you can go to your local one back home in North America or Europe, but Tokyo’s one (which is in Chiba) has the unique Disney Sea alongside the classic Disneyland. Disney Sea was long praised as the resort where you can also drink alcohol, unlike the older park, and has a larger selection of food and drinks more catered to adults, though Disneyland now offers booze in a few locations. Be prepared to find the crowds worse here than Paris or the USA and a number of language-depending attractions suffer from being only in Japanese. But if Disney is your thing, it’s there and you know what you are getting. Just be ready to spend money and queue.

Boso Peninsula: Introduction

 The vast majority of the population of Chiba live in the area immediately adjoining Tokyo, and this is also the area that most people have been to, as well as probably the least interesting for the traveller. If you take a long, slow train ride around the Boso peninsula, which makes up most of the prefecture, you will find a number of treats. The matching train lines the Uchibo (inner Boso) and Sotobo (Outer Boso) will take you much of the way. You can also cut off the first bit by coming across from Kanagawa (at Kurihama) by ferry to Kanaya, but you’ll miss some of the following. 

Kisarazu and Kururi: Taste the water

 The town of Kisarazu is a fairly large centre and not especially unusual, but it leads to the inland town of Kururi, famed for its pure water and with some lovely old buildings and a quiet charm. The small castle has a reconstructed concrete keep which has been placed, not on the original base but right next to it. 

Mother Farm: fun for the family or just grown-ups

 Not far south of here, Mother Farm is an open farm that is particularly enjoyable for families with children, where you can enjoy seeing sheep, cows, pigs, animal shows and the usual attractions in a place like this. But Mother Farm is also fun for adults, providing a taste of the agricultural Chiba, in contrast to the urban and littoral areas, and the views over the peninsula are glorious. 

Nokogiriyama: The Unknown Great Buddha

 Continuing down the coast to Kanaya (where the ferry arrives too), the impressive mountain of Nokogiriyama (saw mountain) has one of the largest and least known of Japan’s many great Buddhas at the temple Nihon-ji. Carved directly into the rock in the Edo Period are a Buddha and a Hyakushaku Kannon and other carvings. A ropeway cable car takes you up and it makes for a great day. 

Tateyama: Castle and Tunnels

 Further down south, the town of Tateyama has a pretty park with lovely blossoms in spring and a small faux-reconstructed castle, though I could see no visible remains of the real castle. Tateyama is also home to the Akayama Underground Tunnels, used as a command centre and hospiral during the Second World War. 

Minami Boso: Birth of Dairy Farming

 Chiba is agricultural land above all, and the city of Minami Boso contains the birthplace of dairy farming in Japan. Way back in the Sengoku Period it started and in the Edo Period white cows were imported from India to cultivate the industry. The Museum, Chiba-ken Rakuno-no-Sato, offers a fascinating glimpse into the growth of milk production in a country that had formerly never known it.

Katsuura: Pleasures of the Sea

 The resort of Katsuura is one of the most popular seaside getaways for people from Chiba or Tokyo and is famous for its beaches as well as its thriving fishing industry. The Tomisaki Shrine is the centre of the great Hina Matsuri festival here too. 

Otaki: Waterfall and Castle

 Now round the corner of the peninsula and head up to Isumi, whence you can take the bus across to Otaki, a charming old castle town. The castle itself on a hill is pretty and there are some nice old streets. The nearby Yoro waterfall is another attraction in the area.

Naruto: A temple surprise

 When I first ventured up the coast, I found myself with time to kill between train in the town of Naruto, only to discover it has a remarkable temple on stilts, Fudoin, and is a good place for cycling around.

4. What to eat

 If you don’t count the Churros and other delights on sale at Disneyland, Chiba has a few interesting local dishes. Probably the oddest and most distinctive is Namero, a strange paste made of minced fish with miso, shiso and shallots, usually found in fish shops around the Boso peninsula. Not to everyone’s taste, it has its huge fans.

 Gau Ramen is a ramen made with a milk and ginger base, as Chiba is known for its dairy production. Toppings vary from seafood to meat.
 Chiba’s own take on the donburi rice bowl is asaridon, topped with asari clams, so abundant in Tokyo Bay, and especially commonly served up in Futtsu City. 
 If you want some dumplings, Chiba’s white Gyoza, sold in Noda City, are rather a treat as well. 

 Chiba is also Japan’s largest producer of peanuts (rakkasei), growing over 70% of the nation’s output. The local volcanic ash soil is perfect for them, and you can eat them as they are or in sweet peanut monaka.

5. Getting to and around Chiba Prefecture

 Apart from literally flying into the prefecture at Narita, you are most likely to access Chiba by a number of train lines heading east from Tokyo Station, for example the Keiyo Line (which will take you to Disneyland and the huge Makurhari Messe venue among other places), the Sobu Rapid Line (which connects up with the Yokosuka Line, giving you direct trains all the way from Kamakura or Yokohama, should you want it) and others. The Uchibo and Sotobo Lines allow you to loop (slowly) right round the inner and outer coasts of the Boso Peninsula, to give you a feel of the size of it, as said above.