Mercure hotel via Tateyama Castle to Kamenoi Hotel Kamagawa
When we get the opportunity to stay in an iconic hotel like Grand Mercure, in such a beautiful location, it is an experience we’d be crazy to miss. You can count on an incredible Onsen, a standard of hospitality that is unique to Japan, hard to believe affordable prices and a suite that exceeds expectations. There are other perks like a lounge with complimentary beverages…alcohol, juices, coffee and snacks and the best part is there are only Japanese guests here (along with 2 gaijins). This creates an opportunity to meet wonderful people and gain news insights into the character and customs of Japanese people. And all this for under $100.
The view from the Hotel’s lounge of the Pacific Ocean below.
We are in Chiba Prefecture which is so beautiful with lush foliage, various types of palm trees and the hills are covered in various types of trees including bamboo. There is a National Park adjacent to the hotel with hiking trails that go for miles. It is a special place.
This area is adjacent to the entrance and lounge areas. At night, the lighting is quite dramatic, creating a cosy ambience and an intimate feel. The lights on the tree sparkle.
We often present a challenge an our accommodation regarding the parking of our trikes, but typically staff try to find us a safe spot that is undercover. This young woman at the hotel escorted us to a ballroom that was not being used providing our trikes with a luxurious place to rest. We pinch ourselves that we are staying in a place like this for under $100.
All too soon it is time to check out. We will have a lovely start to our day with a long downhill section for a few km. We look forward to exploring more of the shoreline and towns of Chiba.
We are fascinated by the process. This tractor-like machine is built to make its way through the muddy bottom and then drop the rice into the water, one container at a time.
Before leaving the area, we decided to visit Tateyama Castle. As always, it is positioned atop a hill, so we will park our trikes and start our hike uphill. Running shoes and walking sticks will help.
The walk up to the castle was quite pretty with forest and features like this along the way.
Loved seeing the Koinobori strung across from the Castle roof. We bought Koinobori earlier on this trip to hang on our flag poles. Locals we meet comment on them and express their appreciation. Many have thanked us for doing this.
We parked our trikes at the bottom of the hill while visiting the Castle. There is a Ground golf course where we parked. It is very popular here in Japan and South Korea where we travelled on a previous trip.
Earlier on the ride, we saw a billboard advertising this sweet shop. The power of advertising was too much for us. We just had to stop and check it out.
One of Barry’s favourite sweet in Japan is the Doriyaki. It is essentially red bean between two small pancakes. It looks like this shop has created another version.
We arrived at a Michi no Eki which had a focus on whales. This is a life sized reconstruction of a blue whale that was created with assistance of the Oslo university. The mural of the whale which seems to be jumping out of the wall is amazing. We haven’t visited a Michi like this before…and we have been to a lot of them.
