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 | Tokyo Off the Beaten Path | Tips 51 - 60 of 196 |  |
 | |  |  | Day Trip out of Tokyo: Outdoor market at Katsuura, Chiba | Tip Rating:    |  |  | |  |
Katsuura, on the coast, in Chiba prefecture, is a little town which we like. Nothing special, but close enough to Tokyo that you can go there on a day trip, to the beach and to walk around the surrounding mountains.
There's an open air market that is 400 years old where local farmers and fishermen come to sell their produce. Bent old women sitting on the ground sell a few carrots or radishes, fish people selling their own dried fish, people with bamboo wares, traditional straw slippers and a variety of other things. It's a small market -- but it's quaint, friendly and surprising in modern day Japan.
It's from 6 to 11 am, closed on Wednesdays. There are two locations, depending on the day but close enough since the town itself is only a few blocks.
According to the website of the city government (only in Japanese), it's one of 3 open air markets in Japan. The beaches don't compare to Thai or Vietnamese beaches of course. There are some good local restaurants but which are difficult to find.
To get there: JR express train from Tokyo station to Katsuura station, about an hour. About 3500 yen for the ticket and the express train charge. A cheaper but longer way is to take a regular train that goes through Chiba. It only costs the train fare without the extra express charge, but takes about 3 hours (maybe less?).
There is an old Ryokan in the town center near where the market is but I forgot the name, There are a bunch of newer hotels and ryokans, all with Onsen. There is also a horrible kitsch skyscraper type hotel right by the beach, but where they have onsen, swimming pool game center....it's called the Mikazuki hotel and it's pretty awful, but people go there with kids.
The town before Katsuura on the JR line, Onjuku, is a well known surfing spot (I don't surf, so that's all I know).
The photos I have included are those from the city government website, but I'm sure they won't mind. Website: http://www.city.katsuura.chiba.jp/index.html
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| | | | Shinjuku: The gay ghetto | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Shinjuku Nichome (literally Shinjuku 2nd District) is a name known to most straight Japanese but visited by very few- it is the "notorious" epicentre of gay life in Japan.
In a four block radius,this little corner of Shinjuku is packed with hundreds of tiny (and amusingly named) gay bars and clubs, like "Baby Satan", "King Light Costume Bar" and "Kings of College". As well, there are cafes , restaurants , a very cruisy Starbucks full of pretty boys flirting over their frappucinos, and of course... porno stores.Its quite remarkable how completely gay the area is - you wuld be hardpressed to find one "striaght" establishment.
During the day the area has a quiet, pleasant village-like atmosphere. Unlike the rest of Shinjuku, there is a nice community atmosphere here. On weekend afternoons crowds gather early to drink, see and be seen at the fashionable Advocates Cafe, standing outside on the footpath as there are no chairs
There is only one "sightseeing" spot per se- the Temple to the King Of Hell - with Tokyo`s biggest statue of the deity and a peaceful graveyard, where mourners leave offerings to their loved ones. Amusingly the graveyard is now overshadowed by a ten-storey (!) gay sex club where patrons can sunbathe nude on the roof and look down over the graves!
At night, the park next door is also a lively and rather seedy cruising area. However, the much more refined pleasures of one of Tokyo`s biggest parks, Shinjuku-Gyoen, are only a few blocks away, if youre more in the mood for French landscaping and lotus-covered ponds than a quick hookup!
For more information on gay nightlife, see the nightlife section. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Shibuya: "Dragon Museum??? | Tip Rating: | | | | |
This store is one of Tokyo`s most idiosyncratic and little-known attractions. It is a boutique on hip, happening Cat Street in Shibuya , which confusingly goes by a surfeit of names : Rock and Roll Department, Too Young to die, Pink Dragon...However, the store itself is easily distinguishable by the giant egg over the doorway (!)
Inside, the store sells retro-inspired rockabilly clothes, hats, accessories...but the real surprise is in the small adjoining room where the "dragon museum" is located. For reasons known only to the store`s owners, they have contructed a bogus plaster-of-paris "dragon skeleton" as their mascot. The goodsized "dragon" remains are presented in a completely deadpan manner, as a genuine specimen.
To support this, the walls are lined with (obvioulsy faked) photgraphs and diary entires from the "paleontological dig" which uneatrhed the "dragon" and a tooth and egg are also on display. The whole thing is just one small room, but it is delightfully bizarre and certainly worth a stop if you`re heading down Cat Street - in any case, a fun hang out on weekends with Shibuya`s fashion-obsessed youth. Leave a Comment
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