A Little Seaside City Called Kimitsu

A couple of hours' train ride around Tokyo Bay lies the small industrial city of Kimitsu, in the Chiba Prefecture. Formed towards the end of the Second World War, it relies heavily on its port industries, namely fishing and the massive Nippon Steel factory - the latter of which is my reason for coming here. I have visited several times over the past 5 years or so, but my exploration of the area has been quite limited. I never have a car to get around, and my limited skill of high-school Japanese makes wandering into a restaurant a bit of a daunting task. However, on this occasion, I had a little help from my customer and translator in seeing a bit more of what this part of Japan has to offer.

The first time I came here, several years ago, I arrived one day early for my job. So I decided to go for a walk around the local area and see what there was to see. The answer? Not much, within walking distance! Just houses and businesses. I do remember that as I rounded a corner on that sunny afternoon, a couple of local schoolkids came around the corner from the other way. One of them almost stopped in his tracks and exclaimed, "Oh! Gaijin!". Now, as I mentioned, I studied Japanese in high school, so I knew what this meant. He had seen me and said "Oh! Foreigner!". I thought that was quite amusing.

My work visits to Kimitsu always have me staying in the Grand Park Hotel EX Kimitsu, because that's where my customer books me. It's a nice, comfortable place. Nothing too fancy, but has all the essentials.

On this visit, a short walk up the main road from my hotel and I found myself at a place called Mazushi. I do love a good sushi binge! This place offers plates of sushi - most with two pieces per plate - for 100 yen each. Some plates are slightly more expensive, but most come under the 100 yen umbrella. There's a good range of flavours available. Everything comes out along the belt, as per a normal sushi train. You can also use the touch-screen display in front of you to order something in particular. Meals will be delivered on the belt on "special order" stands while drinks will be brought to you by a waitress. At first, I tested my Japanese and tried to use the display, ordering a beer. Or so I thought. What came out was in fact an Asahi, but it was a zero-alcohol version! But that was fine, I don't need alcohol. Funnily enough, shortly after this experience, I went back to the main menu on the screen, and there in the top-right corner was a big button that said "English"! So, naturally, I went to my comfort zone for the rest of the dinner.

I tried an assortment of flavours, as seen above, including shrimp tempura, kara-age chicken, and California rolls. At the bottom right was dessert - three different flavours of mochi balls, served on a stick.

The following night, my translator and I made plans to go around town and look for other interesting places to eat. He had a car, so we could go a bit further. In the end, though, we went to a place just a short walk from my hotel - another place I hadn't noticed before! The place was called Yawara Dining 127 serves up a range of traditional Japanese dishes in a cozy setting: a table close to the floor with a hole underneath for your legs. We browsed through the menu and eventually decided on several different dishes to pick and share between us.

Two flavours of yakitori chicken (sauce and salt), and a platter of 5 kinds of sashimi.

Aji: a dish of minced fish with miso paste and herbs. Delicious with a little wasabi and rice!

Beef stew (not sure of the full name), with an absolutely to-die-for creamy, meaty sauce.

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this dinner. On my next visit to Kimitsu, I will have to make a return visit - and test out my Japanese when trying to order!

On the third day, we finished the job we'd come to do around lunch time. With an afternoon to kill, and not wanting to do so sitting in the hotel, my customer and translator suggested we drive out of town somewhere. We ended up going to Kururi Castle, in the hills outside Kimitsu. From the carpark, the castle is about a 15 minute walk up the road (see left), with a decent slope to it. It's a nice way to get the blood pumping, and the road is surrounded by beautiful greenery. In a couple of spots along the way, you can find trails off to the side, complete with old-school log stairs. The walk comes to a nice climax at the top when you reach the castle and can survey the immaculate views over the valleys surrounding it.

Until this visit, I'd always thought of Kimitsu as a sleepy little steel-making town. But it turns out there is a bit going on. Some nice restaurants to try, and plenty of nature just a short drive away. I have read about a big lake in the area that sounds like it would be pretty photogenic, so I will have to try to get to that one on my next visit!

For now, though, as I write this from Narita Airport, I am heading back to good old Adelaide. Probably not for long, as is the nature of my job. But however long or short the stay, I'm always happy to get back home. Til next time!