Hitachi Seaside

Today, I visited Hitachi Seaside! 

It wasn't my idea nor my plan, but thanks to Michi, I managed to go anyway. A lot of people joined, and I had so many interactions with everyone. Overall, it was a really nice group, and we got along well! I'm just a bit socially tired now.

The morning went like this (thanks, Fede, for planning it! I’m so free to copy it here, so others can do it too;))

- 6:30 Leaving my house and getting on the bus at Gokokuji ¥210

- 7:06 Bus arrives, followed by a 10-minute walk to the station

- 7:27 Transfer to Nippori JOBAN LINE - LOCAL KATSUTA (it should be at Platform 4)

- 9:48 We arrive at Katsuta Station

- 10:00 Get on one of the local buses (they leave every 15 minutes) (direction 勝田駅前～海浜公園南口)

- 10:16 Arrive at the park

This cost me about ¥2500 one way. We took this train because we had time. We all live here, and the Shinkansen is pricier - at least that’s what I was told. Don’t be fooled. I didn’t plan any of this. Greetings to everyone.

Now, on to the food...

I didn’t prepare any food because I got used to the コンビニ. The コンビニ opens at 7 though, so, well no dice

But I saw a bakery on the way!

I saw this guy blow torch this eggplant thingy, so of course I had to get some:

...got some more...

....and a sweet treat....

¥900 in total.

On the train:

I was sitting across from a Japanese man who started talking to me?!

But it was really wholesome. We (mainly I) talked about food. He shared that he lived in Germany for 2 years and recommended me some eateries (akindo-suchiro.co.jp - sushi places around ¥2000 and ootoya.com - for traditional Japanese food). Honestly, that was so nice. We chatted for probably half an hour. Then, he left for his station. I didn’t even get his name, nor did he get mine, but I think we had a pleasant time :D

Next to me was Vika, a Ukrainian girl living in Japan for the past 3 years. I conversed with her for the rest of the time. She recommended many places to visit that aren’t cities (thanks, Tobi!) and we talked about diving, extreme sports, food, Japanese culture, and...

You get the picture. She’s really nice, and I chatted a lot with her on this trip. She's also really good in Japanese (even though she downplays it).

Arriving

At the station, it was my first time getting a stamp! There’s actually a stamp at every station you can visit. That’s yet another thing to love about public transportation here!

The day pass bus to there was ¥500, and the entrance fee was ¥800.

I found a dog to pet :)

So many flowers:

And tons of people too!

So that was a snack, right?

Then we went to some more flowers. Honestly, these flowers were my favorite. They are such a beautiful color, and it was so much more expansive than these pictures can convey.

They bloom at the end of April and beginning of May:

We saw some folks taking wedding and cosplay pictures there! Such beautiful scenery. But I got hungry:

All around there were food trucks. But HERE there were only TWO: one sweet ice cream shop and this one. And I was hungry😭

So the fried rice sticks were pretty basic (my least favorite), but the chicken was still really juicy and well done!

You’ve probably heard of my okonomiyaki cooking class. Well, we didn’t just make okonomiyaki there; we also made this: Takoyaki! I haven’t had it since as you need a special mold for it. I also tried it with shrimp back in Germany. Here, it was squid. Honestly, I prefer the shrimp version :|. But it was still good!

This is really soft inside, if done correctly at least. And they were done right.

That was the first time I saw Taiyaki being made! So yeah, sure:

They were out of custard cream, so I got sweet potato. I’m not a huge fan:/

Then I got my first real souvenir: flower seeds! ¥650

(Well, Fredericka did, thank you!)

By this point, I was exhausted. But we still had tulips to see. There were so many varieties, look:

RETURN
For the return trip, rather than providing a fixed schedule, I'll just give you the timestamps for the train going back from Katsuta to Tokyo
REMEMBER: these are the times from Katsuta Station; you need to consider the 15-minute bus ride from Hitachi Seaside Park

- 16:00 JOBAN LINE - LOCAL UENO (You can either get off at Ueno or to Nippori, the stop before, from where you are inside Tokyo)

- 16:58 JOBAN LINE - LOCAL UENO

- 17:52 JOBAN LINE - LOCAL SHINAGAWA (Once you’re inside Tokyo, you can choose the option you prefer to return)

- 18:08 JOBAN LINE - LOCAL SHINAGAWA

--------

We missed the train that leaves at 16:58 by 5 minutes, so we had to wait around a bit. But we boarded the train at 17:52 and were thankfully able to sit. I believe we arrived at Nippori Station at 19:57.

On the train ride, I used Ana Marija’s head as a pillow. Surprisingly, that worked well! I felt like I got some sleep and was fine for the last hour! So thanks, Ana Marija:)

While they took the Yamanoto line to Shibuya, I got off at Mejiro. There, I found a wild soup dumpling shop:

Then, I boarded the bus, where I unintentionally cut in line. I didn’t have enough money left on my Suica card, and someone mentioned that I had cut in line. That was embarrassing. But I survived. Thank you ¥210

Good night!

Money spent: ¥11430 ~ 70€