The title might be a description of me. I feel a bit cracked right now. It’s been a long day.
Today’s Viking breakfast was rather generous with lots of “Boso” specialities. I’m not into eating molluscs, so that cut down a few options, but there were plenty of other options to try. Japanese breakfasts can seem a bit weird to westerners, with curry, ramen, grilled fish and things you’d probably expect for dinner. I don’t mind.
I did enjoy the treat of French toast with blueberry sauce and whipped cream for dessert.
Then I check out and walk to Kisarazu Station. Today I’m ticking another line off my bucket list, the Choshi Electric Railway. To get to Choshi requires three trains. The Uchibo Line to Soga, the Sotobo and Togane Lines to Naruto and the Sobu Line to Choshi.
It’s surprising how much of the land is flat. Fallow grounds, golden grasses, houses and industry, broken up by clumps of bamboo.
We race along many sections, although it’s mostly single track. Not until we near Choshi do we cross low ranges of forested hills topped by wind turbines.
The Choshi Electric Railway is a private line not covered by the JR pass. The trains leaves from the end of the platform and it’s not obvious how to purchase tickets (you can do it on board).
Famous for its ancient rollingstock, the railway recently upgraded by purchasing a second hand Nankai Railway set. While they managed to update the seat upholstery with colourful pictures and replace the handles on the straps, they couldn’t afford to repaint the exterior, which still carries the Nankai name.
It’s a slow half hour ride down to the terminus of Tokawa. Nobody seems to mind, most of the weekend passengers seem to be tourists like me.
Each station is architecturally different, some traditional wooden structures, others, well, you wonder who designed them.
The terminus at Tokawa is one of the previous styles and there’s an out of service rail motor on display at the end of the line.
I could just head back, but I’m not in a hurry today, so I decide to explore. Down the slope, along narrow streets and tight houses, is the Tokawa Port. Fishermen are repairing nets or inspecting their boats. Offshore winds turbines stand motionless, despite the breeze, while gulls and other birds soar.
There’s a highly rated seafood restaurant near the port, but I can already see a long queue outside. Maybe I’ll try later. A bit further along is a “Japanese sweets shop” according to Google. Actually, it’s a delightful little cafe that also sells pasta.
I go in and order a pudding and hot chocolate. The pudding is fantastic, the drink is Japan standard meh. The young man at the till is excited to tell me he visited Brisbane last week. For four days, his first trip to Australia, and he loved it!
There is still a queue outside the seafood shop. I should have brought the others here instead of Toyama. I did suggest it.
I walk back to the station. There I purchase some packs of the famous soft rice crackers. The railway runs at a loss, they actually make more money selling these crackers and other local products than they do with tickets. I’m happy to support them.
I purchase a one day pass ticket so I can get on and off. I ride the train to the popular Inubo Station, where the main product sales office is. The station has some sort of Mediterranean style with stucco walls and tiles. There is more food and souvenirs inside, a doryaki place outside and a “children’s museum”.
There’s a bit of time before the next train, so I take a wander through the area. There’s a colourful shrine up on the hill and a factory for the soft crackers and other products with an outlet down the street. I purchase a few things from them, though I’ll need to wait until home to try most of them.
I left the sushi restaurant near the station until too late. Maybe I’ll get lunch at Choshi.
I don’t get lunch at Choshi. There is a JR train waiting for me on my return and I board. This is the Narita Line and it takes me all the way back to Chiba, much of it along the Tone River.
The countryside is a bit different to the way down, but from around Narita it becomes very familiar. This is where we used to ride on the Narita Express, but when that was our primary airport from Australia.
I seem to miss my next train in Chiba, so I decide to explore a little. I’m riding the Sunrise Seto sleeper tonight and I’m looking for a yoga mat. Standard Products (Daiso) doesn’t have it. Hands don’t have it. I even walk to Loft on the 8th floor of the Sogo Department Store and they don’t have one either.
I’m tired from lugging my bags around all day, I’m hungry from no lunch and I’m mentally exhausted. It would make sense to eat in Chiba but I just want to get to Tokyo, so I catch the next Sobu Rapid service all the way there.
I get out the Marounichi South Exit at Tokyo Station. There’s a great view of the famous Tokyo Station building, but not much else. I walk. Sleazy food joints. I cross over to the Yaesu side, which I’m more familiar with.
It is still confusing. I head down an underground eat street and it is full of people queuing for food. I pick an udon place with only a short queue and more tables. It’s not great.
If only I had known before that further down are shops devoted to all sort of characters, including those from Japanese television stations, Sanrio and Studio Ghibli. The others would have loved it!
I’m tired, I’m confused and my train doesn’t leave until almost 10 pm. I wish there was a nice waiting area. Instead I sit on the platform and watch other trains until, at last, the Sunrise Seto and Sunrise Izumi arrive.
