July 2023 recap - 3 prefectures in 3 weekends: Chiba, Niigata & Gunma

July has been all about doing active things outdoors! Which is kind of odd considering how hot it is, but I don't mind it as much when I'm purposefully planning to sweat and am prepared for it lol. 

Southern Chiba weekend

I planned a quick weekend adventure with our friends to Chiba! Day 1 was the Nokogiriyama hike and then we stayed overnight in Heguri before our bike tour of Minamiboso on Day 2. 

While our view on the hike was compromised by the hazy skies, it did make for a more moderate temperature on the trails. Read about how we tried to dodge mountain leeches, finally reached the summit and also explored Nihonji temple on Day 1 here. 

The cloudy sky on Day 2 was a lot more welcomed with us constantly exposed to the sky while bike riding for 50km and exploring this part of Chiba I never thought I'd visit! More about our Boso Adventure bike tour through farmland to the sea and a bunch in between while learning about the local area in my Day 2 blog post here.

Niigata weekend

The weekend following our outdoor fun in Chiba, my parents were visiting and wanted to see somewhere new, so we spent the weekend in Niigata prefecture!

We didn't quite make it all the way up to Niigata city, but did get to Tsubame for the Industrial Material Museum and workshops and lunch at Italian Bit. We followed that by visiting the SUWADA Open Factory to get a pair of their infamous nail clippers and trying a bunch of different Niigata-based sakes at Ponshukan in Nagaoka. The second day, we stopped at two of the Echigo-Tsumari triennial: MonET and Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel of Light. More details about our 2-ay outing to Niigata prefecture here :)

Canyoning & Rafting in Minakami

Another fun outdoor weekend, but this time we headed a bit more north to Minakami in Gunma prefecture to try out canyoning and rafting. 

(Photos provided by Canyons) I have never done either of these activities, and it was a lot of fun with our friends (2 of which had done canyoning before). Launching into the water is definitely not for me, but it was a wonderful experience, and I had a great time. More photos and details about our experience here.

Six of us also opted to spend the night in Gunma before heading back home the next day. We stayed at a Toyoko Inn in Takasaki and got dinner at Gaburi Chicken. The next day (with 4/6 having stayed out to drink all night into the morning lol), we checked out as late as possible and then got lunch at Tontonhiroba in Maebashi, picked up yakimanju from Harashimaya Sohonke 原嶋屋総本家, went to check out a nearby BookOff Super Bazaar and then made our way home. 

What we ate

Shoya 庄や

Frappes from Family Mart

Mendokoro Shinya

The Fish (Futtsu, Chiba)

Wakou Shokudo (Minamiboso, Chiba)

Osakana Club おさかな倶楽部 (Minamiboso, Chiba)

Sukiya

Pizza-LA

Tsubamesanjo Italian Bit (Sanjo, Niigata)

Hinadori Kaneko ひな鳥金子 (Mitsuke, Niigata)

Lunch buffet with hegi soba and udon from Soba no Sato Abuzaka (Tokamachi, Niigata)

Sukiya again

Chef's choice course dinner - Itali-an いたり庵

Kappa Sushi

Yakiniku King

Mendokoro Shinya again

Kamisato rest stop on our way to Minakami

Ootoro Milk and Kami Rice (Gunma)

Gaburi Chicken (Takasaki, Gunma)

Tontonhiroba 福豚の里 とんとん広場 (Maebashi, Gunma)

Yaki manju from Harashimaya Sohonke 原嶋屋総本家 (Maebashi, Gunma)

Ootoya bento for a work lunch event

Two small rice samples we finally made lol.

Afuri Ramen

The Chicken Plus

Saizeriya

Kura Sushi

Personal life/miscellaneous 

It is unquestionably summer, and somehow I did forget how legitimately hot it gets here when the sun is out. A big difference from Hawaii besides the humidity is that it doesn't really cool down at night! There are many days where it's basically still 80F in the dead of night lol. It's made a big impact on when and how much we run. 

I used to actively avoid running after eating dinner, but after sunset is really the only time it's bearable. Otherwise, I'd probably have to wake up at 02:30am to be able to run in the morning without sun lol. Regardless, we're trying to at least stay consistent with weekly mileage and continue to improve, but we can't wait for autumn to come. 

While we were at the Book Off Super Bazaar in Maebashi, I stumbled upon this Samantha Vega bijou basket bag with a little card case attached for a decent price. It was definitely used and the handles likely won't hold up for more than a couple years (if that), but I decided it had to come home with me anyway because it's summer and the perfect season for it lol. 

Also got a layered pants hanger from Ikea to help organize my claw clips a little better since I'm using them a lot more now!

Outfits this month are somewhat boring (I guess I consider it that way because it's just like 1 piece, the shoes and a bag), but at least it allows the main piece to stand out. Posted here. 

I'm glad my office does have AC which at least makes wearing almost whatever I want (with short sleeves) bearable. I insist on driving for lunchtime errands instead of walking like I'm willing to do in other seasons though. 

We were out and about for 3 straight weekends this month in three different prefectures from our home, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. I'm glad we're doing our best to take advantage of activities that are best suited for the summer like hiking, canyoning and rafting and learning about new areas. I'm exiting July with a new love for Minamiboso and new interest in bike and rafting tours!