11/10/2010

Reaching Paradise in 2 hours from Tokyo


Destination:  
Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture (Distance from Tokyo - 115km, approximately 72 miles)
Map →  http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/chiba/minamibousou.html　

Date:                 August, 2007　
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The very first post of our story goes with our first trip to Tateyama of Chiba prefecture.
We had this 2-day trip in the summer of 2007 (oh gosh, 3 years ago! Time flies so quickly!).

Tateyama is located in the southern part of Chiba which is not so far away from the central area of Tokyo.  But the area shows you a variety of faces Tokyo doesn’t have. Beautiful beaches, magnificent landscape, tasty food, friendly people ,etc. The atmosphere is so relaxed.  You hardly imagine you are in a neighbor province just 2-3 hours away from one of the busiest cities in the world.


The main feature of Tateyama is definitely beaches. Swimming, surfing, sunbathing, or even fishing,,,, whatever you do, it is so fun. But, of course, no beach activity is still enjoyable. Just relaxing at a hotel or exploring the southern Chiba area, like we did, still gives you great pleasure and lets your stress go.  

On the first day of our trip, the weather held perfectly.  Although it was a typical muggy day of August in Japan (the humidity in Tokyo usually goes up to 70-80% or even more from the morning in the summer. It kills you!), we didn’t care.


" Let’s get the hell out here and go to one of the closest paradises to the nation’s capital ”  We knew the weather would be much nicer in Tateyama. Thanks to its location facing the pacific ocean, the town gets the cool wind and fresh air. The area still holds the high humidity, but the heat is much milder than in Tokyo. What a relief!

To reach there, we used a highway bus service from Tokyo station. It was the most inexpensive way to approach to the city and the riding time was only 2.5 hours or so (depends on the traffic condition). The scenery from our bus was good, not great though. On our way, we got a short break at a rest area, called Umi Hotaru or lightning beetle of the sea, on the middle of the bridge crossing the Tokyo Bay.  You can get a panorama of the gulf from the observation deck. It usually gets crowed at night since many people come up to see the spectacular night view of Tokyo skyline.



After about a 15-minute break, all the passengers got back onto the bus and we took our brunch on it. The best point of having a driver for your trip is, as you know, that you can have booze while you enjoy a scenic drive. But we had to refrain from it, because WE had to drive in Tateyama after the bus journey ended.

We arrived at a Tateyama bus depot around 10am. If your trip time is limited, we strongly recommend you to get on the first or second bus departing form Tokyo station in the morning. So you can efficiently use the rest of your day in Tateyama. And renting a car is the best option to go one place to another. The public transportation isn’t helpful enough to get around the area.

Before checking into a B&B we booked, we took an unplanned easy drive on a road called  
Flower Road
. The road sides of it were literally filled with tons of flowers. Very beautiful decoration and very good transformation of taxes!

  



While driving the road, we could find many unmarked or unnamed, but beautiful and interesting spots to take a look.


 

This rocky shore is very unique. There are many small size water holes made by the natural erosion. They are like swimming pools for sea creatures which are lifted up by waves. You can even play with tropical fish at a hole. No scuba diving license is required!

We also stopped by the Rosemary Park. Its fascinating name stimulated our curiosity to see what was going on inside.  The facility actually plants not only rosemary, but various herbs in their garden. Unfortunately there was nothing special to us except a tasty ice cream made with rosemary.



We finally reached the tip of the Chiba peninsula.
Cool wind, fresh air, and blue sky.  It was a nice place to refresh yourself.  Only 3 hours away from Tokyo, but we were in another world!.



After a couple of hour drive, we headed for our B&B. named Verdure  (They used to have an English website but it’s gone, and have altered the fees. It was cheaper 3 years ago). This is run by my friend’s parents who are very friendly. It is a perfect place to experience a local feeling with their plenty of hospitality.

We had a BBQ dinner in their courtyard. In addition to a lot of meat stuff, the locally fished sea food and vegetables the parents harvested from their backyard field were on the table. Of course beer and wine, too. They were all so tasty.

 

After the dinner, we were so laidback and supposed to have a mellow night with the easy tempo of Tateyama.


But we found that another event was waiting for us then.


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Travelling Tips in Tateyama

-  Getting there by:    
  • Train;     Japan Railway Company (JR) Uchibo line from Tokyo station (2.5 Hours).  JPY 8,040 for a round-trip express train ticket
  •  Bus;     JR Highway bus from Tokyo Station (2 – 3 Hours).  JPY 4,400 for a round-trip ticket. 
  • Car;       Tateyama Expressway (2 -3 hrs) from the central Tokyo

- To get around the Tateyama area:
Renting a car is strongly recommended.  Using the public transportation system isn’t a good option to explore the area and taxi costs a lot.  JR provides a good package service of train ride and car rental for their passengers.  http://www.ekiren.co.jp/index.html (Japanese)

- Accommodation in Tateyama :
There are many B&Bs and small inns offering a room at a reasonable price, but with the same degree of hospitality as major hotels. If you want to feel the excitement of local atmosphere, better to stay at one of them. But most of them don’t speak English well, so you need to prepare for the language barrier.
  • Mjor Hotels in Tateyama:
              Hotel Sunosaki Kazenosho    http://sunosaki.com/top.html
              Familio Tateyama    http://www.familio-tateyama.com/
              Shinra     http://www.psr-shinra.com/language/eng/
              Hotel Accion    http://www.accion.co.jp/
              Kyuka Mura   http://www.qkamura.or.jp/q_e_fdetail.php?nfacid=2257

- Travel Expenses:         
  • Approximately JPY 30,000/per person for a 2-day trip, including transportation, accommodationmeals, car rental, and other expenses. The hotel cost takes big bucks.
- Local Tourist Information Center:
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