The Mother Ship
Ok, it's not really like a "ship" closer to a farm. Last week, Mike, Joshua and I took a trip to the Chiba Mother Farm. Ever since his buddies came to visit, Mike has been itching to take us to Chiba via the ferry. From here, there are 3 ways to get to Chiba. Driving around the peninsula through Tokyo taking the toll roads, using the Aqua line, or taking the ferry across the bay. I think the Aqua line toll is about 3000-4000 (one way) yen along with toll road tolls taking the peninsula can be pretty pricey as well and the drive ends up being about 2 hours. The ferry is pretty pricey as well but well worth the trip. For 2 adults, 1 child and a car, it cost about 8000 yen round trip. This is a fantastic way to go if there are children in tow. From Yokosuka base, the Kurihama ferry port is about a 15 minute or less drive away. After driving our car on the ferry, we parked and walked up for a fantastic bay view with an array of snacks and vending machines. The Chiba Mother Farm was about a 20 minute drive from the Chiba ferry port. It broke up the trip so for Joshua he was sitting in a car for 2 hours. Instead the journey there became part of the days adventure. There are special package tickets that can be purchased for the farm that include ferry tickets. We found this out later of course but next time we may take advantage because we could save a little money.
Once in Chiba there are many many things to do. Mike did a little drive on the more rural side with his buddies. This is a great place to see visions of "old Japan" the coastal route was freckled with older farm house and rice patties. The busier side of Chiba is just as fun. The two large attractions are Chiba Mother Farm and Kamogawa Sea World. We haven't been to the sea park yet but it looks like it would be similar to an American sea park with bottle nose dolphins and orcas as some of their main attractions.
This trip we decided to do Chiba Mother Farm. We had a late start and didn't end up making it to the farm until about 12:00. Even though it was a weekend, the farm wasn't too crowded. For adults and children a like this place is a lot of fun. Attractions include a sheep herding show, pig racing (children are picked out of the crowd to chase and spank their pigs way to the finish line), being able to milk a cow, and sheep shearing as well. The first stop that we made was food (Hello....I'm pregnant and it was lunch time!). There are many many places to eat there. We stopped first at the Mother Factory Restaurant. We were served up cafeteria style. I had the "mix grill" plate consisting of potato salad, hand made sausage and lamb hamburger steak. I also got what I thought was fresh yogurt but I think turned out to be top cream with sweet blueberries on top. Really good. Mike got a Ribeye steak served up Pepper Lunch style. Joshua got the children's plate which consisted of french fries, rice, small lamb burger, handmade sausage, flan, and a cow lollipop. Everything was fresh from the farm and delicious. If we had bigger bellies and bigger wallets we may have wanted to try more however, we were pretty full and ready to check out some of the attractions. Joshua fed some lambs, rode the rides, watched the pig race, and did the walking maze with Daddy. Then in typical America fashion we could resist sampling the fresh ice cream. We tried the typical sweet cream and later the seasonal flavor which just happened to be blueberry. The farm area of the park is themed a little bit after New Zealand with the New Zealand flag flying in the livestock area. They also have fruit and vegetable picking including tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, strawberries, kiwis, & blue berries. Along with fruit and veggies they have seasonal flower displays as well. Other attractions include and Auto Camp Site and cottages to rents, craft shop, and jam & butter making. On the right season, one could definitely spend all day here. A side note the the canine member of the family can join as well. Dogs are admitted into the park and there is a large dog run area in the farm area. As souvenirs we bought some sausage to take home but there is a wide assortment of fresh foods that can be bought like fresh milk, home-made ham, ice cream, sausages, lamb, jam, butter, lamb jerky, cheese cake, mousse, truffles, and fresh cheese. We stayed until closing (about 5:00PM) then took the ferry home. We were pooped but we may end up going back again because of all the great attractions. What a great adventure!
Once in Chiba there are many many things to do. Mike did a little drive on the more rural side with his buddies. This is a great place to see visions of "old Japan" the coastal route was freckled with older farm house and rice patties. The busier side of Chiba is just as fun. The two large attractions are Chiba Mother Farm and Kamogawa Sea World. We haven't been to the sea park yet but it looks like it would be similar to an American sea park with bottle nose dolphins and orcas as some of their main attractions.
This trip we decided to do Chiba Mother Farm. We had a late start and didn't end up making it to the farm until about 12:00. Even though it was a weekend, the farm wasn't too crowded. For adults and children a like this place is a lot of fun. Attractions include a sheep herding show, pig racing (children are picked out of the crowd to chase and spank their pigs way to the finish line), being able to milk a cow, and sheep shearing as well. The first stop that we made was food (Hello....I'm pregnant and it was lunch time!). There are many many places to eat there. We stopped first at the Mother Factory Restaurant. We were served up cafeteria style. I had the "mix grill" plate consisting of potato salad, hand made sausage and lamb hamburger steak. I also got what I thought was fresh yogurt but I think turned out to be top cream with sweet blueberries on top. Really good. Mike got a Ribeye steak served up Pepper Lunch style. Joshua got the children's plate which consisted of french fries, rice, small lamb burger, handmade sausage, flan, and a cow lollipop. Everything was fresh from the farm and delicious. If we had bigger bellies and bigger wallets we may have wanted to try more however, we were pretty full and ready to check out some of the attractions. Joshua fed some lambs, rode the rides, watched the pig race, and did the walking maze with Daddy. Then in typical America fashion we could resist sampling the fresh ice cream. We tried the typical sweet cream and later the seasonal flavor which just happened to be blueberry. The farm area of the park is themed a little bit after New Zealand with the New Zealand flag flying in the livestock area. They also have fruit and vegetable picking including tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, strawberries, kiwis, & blue berries. Along with fruit and veggies they have seasonal flower displays as well. Other attractions include and Auto Camp Site and cottages to rents, craft shop, and jam & butter making. On the right season, one could definitely spend all day here. A side note the the canine member of the family can join as well. Dogs are admitted into the park and there is a large dog run area in the farm area. As souvenirs we bought some sausage to take home but there is a wide assortment of fresh foods that can be bought like fresh milk, home-made ham, ice cream, sausages, lamb, jam, butter, lamb jerky, cheese cake, mousse, truffles, and fresh cheese. We stayed until closing (about 5:00PM) then took the ferry home. We were pooped but we may end up going back again because of all the great attractions. What a great adventure!
posted by Unknown | 5:18 PM
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