Otaki

From ChibaWiki

Otaki　（大多喜）

Otaki's a small town of about 12,000 people located here (click)∞. It's probably most famous for it's castle. The Castle is pretty from afar, but the inside isn't much to speak of. The interior is a 1970's vintage museum. If you're teaching here you'll probably be doing 5 elementary schools and 2 middle schools (or one high school). A few are in downtown Otaki where as others are up to 30 minutes away. As for food there's a decent tonkatsu place between the Chiba Ginkou and the 7-11. If you have a hankering for McDonalds there 's one in the Olive. I'm told that Matis is a great place to get groceries.

Transportation

JR doesn't pass through town, but the Isumi Tetsudou does, which starts at Ohara. There's also a bus from Mobara.

Sightseeing

Historic Stuff

The town is worth a wander on a bored sunday afternoon. It was the seat of government (ruled by the Honda Clan) for the middle section of the Boso Peninsula in the Edo Period and has tried to maintain some of its historic appeal. (For example, when the Spanish Galleon San Fransisco crashed in Onjuku back in 1609, the survivors had to go to Otaki to see the local lord, Honda Tadatomo, and hope that he didn't choose to execute them for being foreign. Which he didn't, cause he was an Okay Dude.) There should be town walking maps or something when you get there.

Isumi Tetsudou

The Isumi Tetsudou can also be a pleasant trip. It's hokey old diesel-bus-on-train-tracks feel isn't so useful for transportation, but it makes a good tourism thing, either for a trip in its own right, or as a means to get to Yourou-keikoku Valley. It's particularly famous in Nanohana and Sakura seasons - you've probably seen pictures around Chiba of a little one-car yellow train going through fields of yellow and green and trees of pink --> that's the Isumi Tetsudou. Train otaku love it, too, and on a nice day, you'll see them arrayed along rice fields in the middle of nowhere trying to catch a shot.

Yourou-keikoku

Yourou-keikoku Valley, one of Chiba's best spots for fall foliage and the site of plenty of onsen and hiking, is also partially in Otaki (and partially in neighboring Ichihara). It's at the inner end of the Isumi Tetsudou.

I hear there is a bunch of hiking around Otaki besides that at Yourou-keikoku. Anyone know anything about this?

Festivals

There's a good festival in September (the Otaki Matsuri) that involves folks dressing up as Samurai (and one guy has to wear a sombrero - this is most often the local ALT) and riding around town.

There's other little festivals around the year, too, like flower festivals and such that can be pleasant and relaxing in a tiny-county-fair sort of way.

Eating/Drinking

The town meibutsu (famous food) is Takenoko (bamboo shoots).

Wild boar is also a local food (?)

Maps

Restaurants

Golf courses

tourism

grocery stores and liquor shops

basic town services

combini (I'm told that one of these has gone out of business)