Chiba

(Last updated in Spring 2025)

Chiba（千葉）prefecture is at the east of Tokyo. It is best known for the Disney attractions and Narita Airport（成田空港）, which are commonly mistaken for being in Tokyo.

I visited Tokyo Disneyland in April 2008. Probably because I'm not a fan of Disney movies and characters, I didn't/couldn't quite appreciate the place.

I visited Tokyo DisneySea in May 2014, which was a little better-- more things to see and more thrilling rides, though the queues were still horrendous.

Comparatively, I prefer Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki with less people, lots of tulips in spring and haunted houses. Perhaps I'm really strange :P

Update in Spring 2025:

In Spring 2025, I did a road trip around the Greater Tokyo area mainly for cherry blossom viewing. I visited the three places in the prefecture chosen as "Top 100 Cherry Blossom Viewing Spots in Japan"-- Mobara Park（茂原公園）, Izumi Nature Park（泉自然公園）and Shimizu Park（清水公園）. Shimizu Park is the most impressive out of the three.

I also went to Boso Peninsula（房総半島）, the southern part of the prefecture, for strawberry picking at Shirahama Ichigogari Center（白浜イチゴ狩りセンター）, which has around 10 varieties! I also visited Mitsui Outlet Park Kisarazu, the largest outlet mall in Japan, and enjoyed my time there much more than Gotemba Premium Outlets. Perhaps the latter has more renowned international brands, but it is too crowded and popular items/colors are usually sold out.

I stayed at Kaisen no Yado Funatsuki（海鮮の宿舟付）, which specializes in fish, and the dinner with raw ise-ebi (伊勢海老/Japanese spiny lobster) was very fresh and delicious.