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| Leaves, Ferns (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
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| Trees, Leaves (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
We walked back to the train station after our lunch at Kurashow past some lush, overgrown areas. The station was so tiny that I had to ask for directions at the local 7-11; once there I did some cat viewing and Hali was able to talk with some of the locals using Jim's Pocketalk.
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| Walking Back (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
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| Cat (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
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| Cat (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
On Tuesday this week!
This is the second cat I saw in the Takataki Station area. This one had a very purposeful destination in mind.
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| Cat (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
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| Kurashow Owners (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
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| Gourds, Kurashow (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
Once again, we had a delectable dining experience at Kurashow. The restaurant's new location feels airy and spacious in spite of its actual (small) size. Lots of artistic touches as well!
OK, so the lady's name is Yoko, but somehow I still haven't managed to find out the chef's name.
Maybe someone can research that for me.
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| Kurashow Lunch (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
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| Beer at Kurashow (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
We'd eaten before at Kurashow, but that was when the restaurant was in Otaki. Of course we wanted to dine there again, but now they've relocated to a different area in Chiba. Getting there by train was just a little convoluted! It certainly helped that Yoko met us at Takataki Station and gave us a ride over to the restaurant.
As usual, the lunch was quite tasty, plus Mike was able to sample a local beer!
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| Rice Paddy (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
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| Takataki Station Sign (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
We took the antiquated Kominato train to the Takataki Station, passing by rice paddies and other rural sights.
Wikipedia has a succinct description of the station: "Takataki Station has a single side platform serving bidirectional traffic. The overgrown ruins of an opposing side platform remain. There is a small station building with a waiting room, but with no ticket gate."
For some reason I didn't take a photograph of the overall station, so I have to rely on the next photo found on the internet. Don't know who took it, but thanks!
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| Takataki Station |
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| Kominato Railway (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
We wanted to return to Kurashow restaurant for lunch. We've been there twice and really enjoyed our meals there, but they're no longer at their old location. It turned out to be quite a journey from our Tokyo hotel to Kurashow, now located in a semi-rural part of Chiba Prefecture.
We got help from Mr Yoshihoto Minagawa whose family lives in Chiba . . . he was able to figure out the necessary train schedules and wrote them out for us. Quite helpful!
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| Train Schedule to Takataki Station - Japan 2024 |
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| Cat (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
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| Cat (Chiba) - Japan 2024 |
Hanging out around the Takataki Station in Chiba Prefecture. Some older ladies were giving it quite a bit of attention.
