Melissa's Travel Adventures

Exploring Japan with a Wyvern

MelissaG

Welcome to Yachimata!

Welcome to Yachimata, the city I am working in as an ALT! It’s a small town of a little less than 70,000 people, about a half hour away from Chiba and two hours away from Tokyo by train. Above is an image of the city’s town hall.

Yachimata is known for producing peanuts, and, predictably, its town mascots are a pair of peanuts named Pea-chan and Nacchan.

Much of Yachimata is covered in farmland and gardens. Peanuts are the main crop, but many vegetables are grown here, as well.

The view from outside my apartment.
A small vegetable plot in the midst of houses.
Strangely, there are no fences around any of the fields.
I wonder how they keep animals out without fences?
But then again, the only animals I’ve seen have been domesticated cats and pigeons.
I think this is a peanut farm in the early period after planting.
Leafy vegetables!
Wheat? I am very bad at identifying crops so take these identifications with a grain of salt.

Yachimata is more than just farmland, of course. It has features typical of a small town in Japan, such as narrow roads and short buildings, and architectural designs that you wouldn’t see in the States.

The train station.
A shopping street.
The street drainage system! Very unlike US storm drains.
This diamond pattern is repeated on stone house fences all over town. Elegant.
A walkway between homes and fields (not seen).
Another shopping street.

Yachimata is also very green, with lots of native plants and trees growing in the area. Much greener than DFW, for sure!

A mixed bamboo forest near a parking lot.
Keyakinomori Park.
A grand old tree in Keyakinomori Park.
A Japanese black pine!
A rhododendron bush.
Bamboo forest!
More bamboo.
The bamboo forests here are very small.
But pretty.
And tall!
A familiar sight from home in Yachimata?! Where’d this cactus come from…?

I haven’t been able to access a good chunk of the town yet, thanks to being largely stuck on foot so far. I haven’t figured out the bus routes yet either…

I will very likely mention Yachimata in posts in the future, particularly in the context of seasonal changes. I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my home base in Japan.

Bonus: Pictures of an amazing custom bicycle found at a secondhand shop in Yachimata. It must be hand-carved, for it to cost so much (¥229,000 or $1,711.38). I wonder what happened to the previous owner?

Response

  1. Mom Avatar
    Mom

    Yachimata is about the same size town population-wise that I grew up in. Trust me- there were no bamboo forests in my hometown! The green is very pretty.

    Reply

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