This is Part 2 of our Chiba outdoor adventure weekend. We arrived in southern Chiba via Tokyo Wan Ferry and spent the first day hiking Mt Nokogiri (blog post here).
For our overnight stay, I made arrangements at the Heguri Hub 平群ハブ guesthouse! This space used to be an nursery school until it closed due to low enrollment. It's now used as an outdoor activity complex with a lunchtime cafe, coworking space, cycling clubhouse, guesthouse for up to 6 people and solo camping ground outside.Day 1 - hike to the summit of Mt Nokogiri (鋸山) via Shari-michi course 車力道コース and then through the depleted quarries, "View of Hell" (Jigoku nozoki 地獄のぞき) and Nihonji Temple with the largest sitting buddha and down via Kanto fureai trail (関東ふれあいの道) which is the #3 Climber's trail here.Day 2 - Minamiboso 1-day bike tour by Boso Adventure out of Heguri Hub. A (customizable) 50km bike route through farmland to the beach, a gallery, a couple of road stations and including a stop for a seafood lunch led by Setogawa-san.
Setogawa-san met us and introduced us to the guesthouse space. There's 1 room with 2 sets of bunk beds (4 beds total) and then a separate tatami room with 2 Japanese style futon beds. Both rooms had large curtains and their own split AC unit that we could control.
Outside the bedrooms, there is a large shared area with 2 sinks and a washing machine (hair dryer also available for use).
There are two showers and shampoo, conditioner and body wash are provided in each. We were also provided 1 body towel per person. (Be sure to turn on the hot water tuner before using!)
We needed a dinner recommendation in the area, so Setogawa-san set us up with a reservation at Wakou Shokudou 和光食堂 just down the road 2 minutes by car which is run by the same person who manages the cafe at Heguri Hub.
We were actually directed to a different entrance upon checking in and had an entire private room to ourselves! Setogawa-san had informed us that the family who runs it doesn't speak any English, so he gave us some translated menus he had prepared that day to take with us, haha. The family also greeted us with some printed out signs in English that said "Thank you for coming!" and "Are you ready to order?" when we had decided which was really sweet and cute.
We returned to Heguri Hub and played a couple board games in the coworking space before going to sleep. Staff isn't onsite overnight but we had contact information in case something happened. We also made sure we knew how to turn off the lights and lock the doors before turning in for the night.
Toilets per gender are available outside the guesthouse space and is shared with the main clubhouse.
After getting settled, in the rooms, we met with Setogawa-san in the co-working space which was currently unoccupied to discuss the rest of our stay and the bike tour the next day. It's a very nice space with tables and office chairs well spaced out. Just outside the co-working space is where you can solo camp as well.
My husband ordered oyakodon and I got a hirekatsu teishoku. It was a nice and relaxing dinner for the 5 of us, and we were able to chill out and enjoy ourselves without worrying about bothering anyone else.
We met back up at 08:30 the next morning to get ready for the bike tour! They already had 5 cross bikes ready for us outside with helmets. Setogawa-san and staff helped ensure we had properly adjusted our bikes and were comfortable shifting gears since we all had different levels of biking experience.
After a quick signal and safety briefing (hand/arm signals and bike in single file line, etc), we were off just before 09:00! I wasn't confident to have my phone out in the beginning, but we rode for about 20 minutes through farm land on fairly flat roads before taking a brief water break. It was really interesting to get to know the area, and Setogawa-san told us a little bit more about how this area was affected by the typhoon 3 years ago.
First major stop is a roadside station 15 minutes later. There were wooden stands already set up for us to "park" the bikes. We looked around in the shop, got soft cream and were able to use the restroom here.
2nd major stop is Haraoka Beach, about 30 minutes ride away from the roadstation.
Setogawa-san brought us right to Okamoto/Haraoka Pier which is said is often used for movies and tv shows. It's very scenic!
When we were finally able to order, luckily our choices were still available, but Setogawa-san and I got the last 2 tachiuo 太刀魚 sets (the last photo)!
We felt really lucky to have been seated easily and ordered what we wanted from this very popular restaurant! With the menu and ordering system, we would have felt very intimidated to eat here without Setogawa-san's guidance, so we were very appreciative!
We left the lunch restaurant at 12:20 and after another 15 minute bike ride, we arrive at Gallery&Cafe Funakata Soko ギャラリー ＆ カフェ 船形倉庫 which is in a very interesting building! Of course, the stones are all from Nokogiri (where we hiked on Day 1).
This cafe features artworks by famous local artist Kazuo Mizoguchi 溝口七生 whose daughter (Kaori-san) runs the shop and also is part of the Minamiboso tourism team! The gallery includes a rotating stock of Mizoguchi's artwork. While we were visiting, the theme was ocean and they were all local-based.
We took a brief break here and enjoyed some drinks and snacks from the cafe while we decided where we should venture next.
For lunch, Setogawa-san had asked us if we were interested in trying some local seafood but warned us that it may be very crowded, and we might need to use a backup. We arrived at Osakana Club おさかな倶楽部 at 10:40, 20 minutes before it opened, but the parking lot already had a ton of cars and we were 18th on the waiting list! Luckily, we were able to enter in the first seating, but were among the last to get in.
The menu is based on what the local fisherman caught that day, so it's all up on the signboards in the middle of the restaurant. We had a bit to wait since we were 18th in line to order, and meanwhile saw a bunch of items become sold out very quickly!
I had never heard of tachiuo 太刀魚 before and the picture that comes up on google is a little intimidating but ordered this from Setogawa-san's recommendation!
Upon deciding to tackle the hill to a local shrine, we head back out much fuller than when we started the tour lol.
We made it up the hill but had to go through a tunnel that was completely dark so we stopped so Setogawa-san could prep us for what was ahead. I still failed miserably to get through without pausing but at least I didn't fall off the bike lol.
All the way to Iwai Shrine. Setogawa-san explained the importance of this local shrine and instructed us on how to pray at the shrine with bowing and clapping.
One last stop before getting back to the clubhouse - Roadside Station Furari Tomiyama. The new building is under construction and was to open two weeks from our visit, but they still had a bunch of other items in the temporary set up with lots of different local products.
After an uphill battle (for me, an inexperienced biker lol), we arrived back at Heguri Hub just after 15:00! We returned the bikes and then cooled down in the co-working space. We also had access to the showers in the guesthouse area which we very much needed on this humid, summer day.
When we had showered and recovered after the bike tour, we headed back the way we came to Kanaya to catch the ferry back to the Kanagawa side. We were initially planning to take the Aqua Line back (drive north through Chiba and then across the bottom of Tokyo into Kanagawa) but Setogawa-san advised us that the traffic would be very bad after 13:00 - 14:00. If we had been deadset on driving back, he would have ensured the tour ended early enough for us to not be stuck in bad traffic though!
It was very convenient for us to get to, so I would like to visit southern Chiba and Minamiboso again in the cooler months!
Thoughts on our Boso Adventure 1-day bike tour:
- tl;dr: We loved it! 10/10 would recommend, would do again, but would prefer a different (less hot) season.
- Setogawa-san was an amazing guide, and we were thankful that his English is impeccable which made communicating with him super easy for us. I think we could have gotten through it with our limited Japanese, but it was a lot more comfortable for us in English. Kaori-san (who runs Cafe Funakata Soko) also speaks very good English and helps with the tours when needed (by van).
- It's such a great feature to be able to customize the bike tour for your skill level, how much time you have or even if you choose a cross bike vs an e-bike. I'm sure you could also pick which landmarks you want to visit as well (as long as you are willing to bike to get there).
- This was our first bike tour for most of us, and definitely the first time I ever biked this distance - 25mi/~50km! I felt safe and confident the whole time following Setogawa-san's lead.
- We visited places we likely wouldn't have stopped at or driven through if we were on our own and were able to soak up so much of the beautiful landscape in the region. It was especially nice to stop for lunch at Osakana Club with Setogawa-san's help.
- It was a bit hot despite being overcast, but I think that's to be expected with an outdoor summer activity and obviously our fault for picking to do it in July lol. But the tours are offered throughout the year, so I would consider going on another one in autumn or spring!
- Setogawa-san was practicing with his new 360° camera and was nice enough to give us a copy of the footage. I had to upload it to my YouTube channel to get it on the blog since the file was too large to just upload, but all rights belong to Boso Adventure. This is just a small slice of what we did, but it will be a treasured memory for us!
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