I visited Minamiboso and Tateyama on July 15-16. This southern part of the Chiba prefecture is a quaint beach getaway near Tokyo. Minamiboso, in particular, is known for its loquats (called biwa in Japanese), which are fruits that taste like a combination of mango and orange. This area is also known as the birthplace of a food called namerou, which is a mixture of minced raw fish. I enjoyed trying it, but I think many foreigners wouldn’t.
Here’s where Minamiboso is.A stock image of loquats.This is the namerou I tried when I was there.
Please enjoy a look at the scenery of Minamiboso and Tateyama.
A rice field! Too early for the rice harvest, but you can hardly see the water in the field, now.I took some of these from the train. Sorry for the reflected glare!This is a dashi shrine for a kami (god), pulled by several people. (The version that is carried is called mikoshi.) I spotted this near the train station and watched for a bit while drums were played and the shrine moved every so often.It is a miniature traveling shrine that is part of summer festivals. They travel from town to town giving people good luck.
Most of the time I was here, I just bummed around on the beach. Very nice. It was cloudy the first day and didn’t get in the water, but the second day was beautifully sunny and I spent time swimming. I also had fun playing around in the tidepools and seeing all the little critters that lived in them!
Even on a cloudy day, the beach was beautiful.This is a different beach. There are lots of little beaches along the coastline in this area.Excited to go swimming!A first look at the tidepools.Barnacles growing near the tidepools.I do believe that these are trilobite fossils on this chunk of rock! They certainly look like it, anyway.Teensy little hermit crab, out in the wild!A selfie in the tidepools.This shell is occupied by some sort of critter.Shrimp!!!Crab!Another crab! Looking at me warily, haha. It scuttled further into the rock crack after I took this picture.More barnacles!An overview of the beach I swam at.Taking this series of pictures was terrifying because I was in the water… and I’d forgotten my waterproof camera case. Taking the tidepool pictures was pretty scary, too. Definitely glad I didn’t drop the phone!My nose is already a little pink. Despite my efforts with sunscreen, I did wind up with a sunburn…Can you see the fish in this picture?
I also visited the Biwa Club. This rest stop has actually been voted as the best rest stop in Japan. It has plenty of amenities, including a restaurant and several souvenir shops with plenty of loquat-themed goods. In addition, you can pick fresh loquats here when they are in season (which they unfortunately weren’t when I visited). I acquired most of my souvenirs from there. It was a very cozy place to rest before I headed back home.
The exterior of the Biwa Club. I have no pictures of the interior, since there were too many people to comfortably take pictures.Some seashells from the seashore, a postcard, a tenugui, some loquat-flavored snacks, and loquat juice.A closer look at the juice and some of the snacks.
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