Index

　I.News　　　II. Festivals and Events　　　 III.Exhibitions, Concerts, etc.

 I. News

 1) ChiBUStory Tourism Shuttle Bus Service (Chiba Prefecture)

    Now is the perfect time to get out and explore the wonders of Chiba prefecture! Experience the prefecture’s abundant nature, deep cultural heritage, and delicious fall cuisine as the ChiBUStory shuttle bus service connects you to all the attractions Chiba has to offer. The heavily discounted highway buses will run round-trip from Narita Airport along routes to Kamogawa and Choshi from September 17th to October 31st. Passengers traveling with Narita Airport can use the bus free of charge on their arrival and departure dates. Take advantage of this special offer and experience the charm of Chiba!

• Date: Saturday, September 17 – Monday, October 31, 2016
• Routes:  *All routes stop at all three terminals of Narita Airport.

• Bus Fare:

• Reservations:

• Inquiries

 2) Hop on Board and Experience the Charm of Chiba

    Whether you travel by bus, train or bike, experience all the charm that Chiba has to offer during Chiba Prefecture’s “Thank You Chiba Free Pass” Fall Campaign. Passes are on sale now and will be until November 19^th. The Thank You Chiba Free Pass grants riders two days of unlimited rides and transfers on participating railways and bus routes. The pass also includes discounts on accommodations, restaurant coupons, reduced entry for attractions, and renta-cycle services. Now is the perfect time to get out and explore the wonders of autumn in Chiba!

Thank You Chiba Free Pass (2 day all-you-can-ride pass)

• Price: 3,900 yen (Adults), 1,950 yen (Children)
• Period of Sale: 8/1/2016-11/19/2016
• Period of Use: Two consecutive days between 9/1/2016-11/20/2016
• Ticket Vendors: JR Higashi Nihon (Stations between Ichikawa-Hon Chiba, Maihama-Soga, Funabashi Hoten-Minami Nagareyama, Matsudo-Tennodai) Narita, Narita Building 2, Nartita Station Service Windows and Seating Reservation Machines
• Participating Transit Services:

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 II. Festivals and Events

 1) Yabusame at Kippo Hachiman Shrine (Kamogawa City)

　　During this annual ritual at Kamogawa City’s Kippo Hachiman Shrine, an archer rides horseback across the rice paddies as they aim for targets which will predict the harvest for the upcoming year. The Kamogawa Yabusame Ritual has been designated as a Chiba Prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Asset.

     The targets are one meter wide square boards that are fixed to the top of three bamboo poles. The poles measuring about five meters in height, are positioned in the paddies approximately 30 meters apart from each other. Each of the three targets represents different predictions for the following year. One target represents an early harvest of rice, another represents a midseason harvest, and the final a late harvest. The archer races across the field three times, each time shooting three arrows. A total of 9 arrows are shot, and the success of the harvest as well as the type of rice grains that should be grown for the next year are predicted by where the arrows land.

• Date: Sunday, September 25, scheduled for 15:00-15:30
• Place: Kippo Hachiman Shrine

• Access: 20 minutes by bus (take the bus for Kozuka and get off at the stop “Kippo”) from Awa-Kamogawa Station (JR Sotobo Line)
• Inquiries: TEL (04) 7093-3800 (Kamogawa City Folk Museum)
• URL: http://www.city.kamogawa.lg.jp/English/Tourism/HistoryandCulturalAssets/CulturalAssets/1413938950203.html

 2) Bayside Jazz 2016 Chiba (Chiba City)

　　Beginning in the late nineties, this annual event first began in order to bring the town together with jazz music. The “Bayside Jazz Chiba” jazz festival has become a Chiba City tradition ever since, and will now be celebrating 19 years of music.

　　The main event, Jazz Street, will be on Saturday, October 1^st at 24 different venues (16 paid admission, 8 free admission) located in the Chuo district (Chiba Station and Chuo Park, Chiba City Cultural Center area) and Chiba Minato district (near JR Chiba-Minato Station). This is a rare opportunity to enjoy performances at not only the hall venue, but also restaurants, bars, and other spaces where performances are not usually held. At the free admission venues, check out performances by both amateur and professional groups. Get a sneak peek of what is to come at the Sogo mall Demonstrations between September 18^th and the 25^th.

　　See below for a variety of other performances including an exquisite performance by Stardust Jazz on October 2^nd. Musicians will perform in tandem with the starry sky at the planetarium in the Chiba City Museum of Science.

Demonstration

• Dates: Sunday, September 18, 11:30-12:30; Friday, September 23, 18:00-18:45; Sunday, September 25, 11:30-12:00 & 13:30-14:00;
• Place: Sogo Mall main entrance area
• Admission: Free Public Performance

Festival Eve Concert

• Date: Friday, September 30
• Time: doors open at 18:00, performance starts at 18:30
• Place: Chiba City Cultural Center 3^rd floor Art Hall
• Admission: 6,000 yen advance-sale, 6,500 yen at the door (all seats reserved)

Fureai Music Concert

• Date: Saturday, October 1
• Time: 11:00-11:45
• Place: Chuo Park special stage
• Admission: Free

Jazz Street

• Date: Saturday, October 1
• Time: 11:00-21:00
• Place: Chiba City Cultural Center 3^rd floor Art Hall and 15 other venues (Free admission venues located at Lexus Chiba Chuo and 7 other venues)
• Admission for paid venues: 4,000 yen for advance tickets; 7,000 yen for advanced pair tickets; 5,000 yen for same-day adult tickets; 500 yen for same-day students

Stardust Jazz

• Date: Sunday, October 2
• Time: 13:00-13:45 and 14:30-15:15 (guests are asked to pick only one session to attend)
• Place: Chiba City Museum of Science 7F Planetarium (inside the Qiball building), 4-5-1 Chuo, Chuo-ku, Chiba City
• Admission: 510 yen for adults, 300 yen for high school students, 100 yen for junior and elementary students

Inquiries: Chiba City Cultural Promotion Foundation (043-221-2411)

URL: http://www.f-cp.jp/bsj/ (Japanese)

 3) Ohara Hadaka Festival (Isumi City)

 　The Ohara Hadaka (naked) Festival is one of the most famous festivals in the prefecture. On Friday, September 23, after the 18 mikoshi (portable shrines) have prayed for good harvests and catches, the festivities will move onto the shiofumi ritual. The shiofumi ritual is one of the Ohara Hadaka Festival’s main attractions. Hoisting the mikoshi onto their shoulders, the mikoshi bearers charge the beach and plunge into the surf. Battling the heavy waves and occasionally other mikoshi teams, they continue to toss the heavy mikoshi up and down in the raging waters. This inspiring ritual dates back to the Edo Period.

      After their dip in the ocean, the mikoshi return to the Ohara central shopping area, where they sing and parade all the way down to Ohara Elementary School, where the final attraction of day, the parting ritual, takes place. At the parting ritual, the mikoshi teams dash around the school grounds exhibiting great feats of strength, as if to challenge the other teams.

     As the day’s festivities come to a close, mikoshi teams join together in groups of two or three to sing parting songs as the sun sets and the town glows with the gentle light of the streetlamps. In chorus they repeat the lyrics, “you young ones/ parting is hard/it would be better if we did not have to part,” which stir up a feelings of melancholy among the onlookers. As if to refuse parting for the evening, the mikoshi continue to parade throughout the shopping arcade deep into the night, even after the parting ritual has come to an end.

    On the 24^th, after the individual mikoshi have completed the festival rituals at their respective shrines, they once again gather in the shopping arcade to perform the parting ritual one final time. Afterwards, the younger mikoshi bearers continue to toss them about until the jinku and kiyari folk songs signal that it is time to return the mikoshi to their shrines where they will wait until they can meet again next year.

• Date: Friday, September 23 – Saturday, September 24
• Place: Ohara Beach, Ohara central shopping area, Ohara Elementary School, etc.（Ohara, Isumi City）
• Access: Ohara Station (JR Sotobo Line)

Shiofumi ritual: Ohara Beach, 20 minutes on foot

Mikoshi parade: Ohara central shopping area, 1 minute on foot

Parting ritual: Ohara Elementary School, 15 minutes on foot

• Inquiries: Ohara Hadaka Festival Planning Committee, Isumi City Commerce & Tourism Division (0470-62-1243)
• URL: Isumi City: http://www.city.isumi.lg.jp (Japanese)

 4) 2016 Kujukuri Triatholon (Kujukuri)

　　On Saturday, September 24^th, come out and cheer on the 2016 Kujukuri Triathletes as they swim 1.5 km in the Ichinomiya River, cycle 40km along the Kujukuri Toll Road, and run 10km through the town of Ichinomiya. After the competition ends, hit the beach for a late afternoon beachside party. Then on Sunday, September 25^th, enjoy more of the beach with activities including yoga, surfing, and a BBQ lunch!  

Kujukuri Triathlon

• Date: Saturday, September 24
• Time: Triathlon starts from 10:00

• Place: Ichinomiya Beach and surrounding area

Beach Day Activities

• Date: Sunday, September 25
• Place: Ichinomiya Beach
• Activities:

1) Yoga

  Time: 9:00 – 9:30

  Cost: FREE

2) Surfing Experience

  Time: 10:30 – 12:30, lunch from 12:00

  Cost: 3,500 yen (Includes: Lesson Fee, Board Rental, BBQ Lunch, and Insurance fee)

3) BBQ Lunch

  Time: 12:00-

  Cost: 1,000 yen

• Access: about 30min walk from JR Kazusa Ichinomiya Station or 10 minutes by special event day shuttle bus from JR Kazusa Ichinomiya Station
• Inquiries: TEL (04) 7542-1427 (Ichinomiya Town Development Division)
• URL:http://www.town.ichinomiya.chiba.jp/kankou/tri/index.html  (Japanese Only)

 5) Kazusa Junisha Festival (Ichinomiya Town)

    This festival is the oldest seaside festival in all of Chiba and its history can be traced back to the year 807.

    The origin of the festival begins with the meeting of two gods. A long, long time ago, the god of the mountains, Ugaya Fukiaezu-no-Mikoto, fell in love at first sight with the goddess of the sea, Tamayorihime-no-Mikoto, and the two of them were joined in marriage. Jinmu Tenno and the other gods who were born from this union traveled down a well said to be connected to the sea, and followed the waterway until they were washed up along the shores of Kujukuri. The young, energetic gods then ran amok on the beach until Tamayorihime and the other gods in the family came to the shores of Kujukuri to collect the children.

    In accordance with this legend, each year on September 10th, Ugaya Fukiaezu-no-Mikoto rides on the Uba Shrine mikoshi to fulfill his promise and meet with Tamayorihime-no-Mikoto at the Tamasaki Shrine. Then, the ritual of washing the newly born gods down the well at Uba Shrine is held. Finally, on September 13, the gods gather on the shores of Tsurigasaki, just as it is described in legend. The climactic scene plays out with of over 2,500 young people hurtling down to the beach while carrying the mikoshi shrines that contain the gods of the Tamayorihime-no-Mikoto’s family as they go to collect their children.

　This festival is a designated Chiba Prefecture Intangible Folk Cultural Asset.

• Date: Saturday, September 10; Monday, September 12 – Tuesday, September 13
• Place: Tamasaki Shrine and Tsurigasaki Beach（3048 Ichinomiya, Ichinomiya Town, Chosei-gun）
• Access: 7 minutes by foot from Kazusa Ichinomiya Station (JR Sotobo Line)
• Inquiries: TEL (0475) 42-2711 (Junisha Festival Preservation Committee, Tamasaki Shrine)
• URL: http://www.tamasaki.org/　(Japanese)

 6) Onjuku Lobster Festival/Tsuki no Sabaku Monument and throughout Onjuku (Onjuku Town)

   The Onjuku Lobster Festival will be held from Thursday, September 1st to Monday, October 31st.  Participating lodging facilities and restaurants will offer their own unique dishes of ise-ebi, or Japanese spiny lobster, and on weekends and holidays from September 17th to Sunday, October 30th, freshly-caught lobster will be sold at bargain prices in front of the Tsuki no Sabaku Monument starting at 9:30.

    At the events held on Sunday, September 11 and Sunday, October 2, a limited number of “Lobster Sets” containing 2 spiny lobsters and 2 horned turban shells (sazae) will be for sale. There will also be free shrimp soup, and visitors can buy fresh lobsters directly from the fisheries.

Main Events

• Date: Sunday, September 11, Sunday, October 2
• Place: in front of the Tsuki no Sabaku Monument
• Events:Lobster Sets for sale (contains 2 lobsters and 2 horned turban shells), lobster-grab corner, free shrimp soup, spiny lobster direct sale, street performances

Other events

1.Delicious lobster recipes for a great price! Participating lodging facilities and restaurants will offer unique spiny lobster dishes.

2.Specialty goods corner featuring the flavors of autumn! Live spiny lobster caught fresh in Onjuku will be available for purchase at bargain prices on weekends and holidays from September 17 to Sunday, October 30 from 9:30-13:30 (cancelled in the event of rain).

• Date: Thursday, September 1-Monday, October 31 (Events on Sunday, September 11 and Sunday, October 2)
• Location: in front of the Tsuki no Sabaku Monument, 505-1 Rokkenmachi, Onjuku Town, Isumi District
• Access: 10 min on foot from Onjuku Station on the JR Sotobo Line
• Inquiries: Onjuku Town Tourism Association (0470-68-2414)
• URL: http://www.onjuku-kankou.com/

 7) Yawatanmachi (Awa Kokushisai) Festival (Tateyama City)

The Tsurugaya Hachimangu Shrine’s autumn festival, called “Yawatanmachi,” is the largest festival in the Awa Region. Boasting of a tradition dating back 1,000 years ago, each year the festivities are enjoyed by over 100,000 guests.

    This festival was named “Awa Kokushisai,” because the shrine was originally the main shrine for the Awa Province (Awa no Kuni) and the kokushi, or provincial governor, used to hold the festival himself. The festival now serves as a gathering for the whole city and has been chosen as a Chiba Prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Asset.

    This year, the festival will be held on Saturday, September 17th and Sunday, September 18th. On the 17^th, ten mikoshi will be carried out of their respective shrines and be paraded all around the city until the evening when they are carried to the karimiya, or place of pilgrimage. On the 18^th, after the four dashi floats and one ofune float have returned to their shrines, the festival will culminate with the celebratory Hachimangu ritual, called ohamade, and the mikoshi will then make their way back as well.

• Date: Saturday, September 17 – Sunday, September 18
• Place: Tsurugaya Hachimangu
• 68 Yawata, Tateyama City
• Access: 15 minutes by foot from Tateyama Station East Exit (JR Uchibo Line)
• URL: http://www.city.tateyama.chiba.jp/en/page100037.html　

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 III. Exhibitions, Concerts, etc.  

 1) Autumn Events at the Chiba Museum of Science and Industry (Ichikawa City)

    The Chiba Museum of Science and Industry in Ichikawa City shows the history of modern technology (especially Chiba’s key industries of electric power, petroleum, iron, and steel), explains how advanced technology has changed society, and considers the relationship between science and people.

    This autumn there are a variety of exciting events and hands-on experiences for the whole family, including making glow-in-the-dark slime and CHI-BA+KUN origami.

Ichikawa City Children’s Science Room

On display are scientific creations made by elementary and junior high school students in Ichikawa City during summer vacation.

• Date: September 10-11, 9:00-16:00
• Place: Exhibition Room

Autumn Fair at the Science Museum 2016

Make Light-Up Slime

The Children’s Science Classroom holds various classes and workshops for children to learn about science in a fun and easy-to-understand way. Here children can make slime that absorbs light and glows in the dark.

• Date: Sunday, September 11 at 10:35, 13:05, 14:35
• Capacity: 24 people per session (for junior high school students and younger; elementary school 3^rd graders and younger must be accompanied by a guardian)
• Sign-up: 25 minutes in advance (same-day). If capacity is reached, participants will be chosen by lottery.
• Fee: 150 yen (plus museum admission)

Flying Glider Making

• Date: Thursday, September 22 at 13:05 and 14:35
• Capacity: 24 people per session (junior high school students and younger)
• Sign-up: 25 minutes in advance (same-day). If capacity is reached, participants will be chosen by lottery.
• Fee: 50 yen (plus museum admission)

CHI-BA+KUN Origami

• Date: Sunday, September 18, 10:10-12:00 and 13:30-15:00
• Capacity: 50 people per session (plus museum admission)
• Sign-up: same-day sign-up
• Fee: FREE (plus museum admission)

Make a Flying Seed

• Date: Monday, September 19, 10:10-12:00 and 13:30-15:00
• Capacity: 50 people per session
• Sign-up: same-day sign-up
• Fee: FREE (plus museum admission)

Make a Mysterious Magic Mirror

• Date: Sunday, September 4, at 13:05 and 14:35
• Capacity: 24 people per session (junior high school students and younger, must be accompanied by a guardian)
• Sign-up: 25 minutes in advance (same-day). If capacity is reached, participants will be chosen by lottery.
• Fee: 150 yen (plus museum admission)

Exploration Quiz Rally

• Date: September 18 (Sunday), 19 (Monday), and 22 (Thursday), 12:45-14:30
• Capacity: about 50 people per day, first-come first-served (preschoolers, must be accompanied by a guardian)
• Fee: free (plus museum admission)

Place: Chiba Museum of Science and Industry, Onitaka 1-1-3, Ichikawa City

Museum Hours: 9:00-16:30; closed Mondays (or the next day if Monday is a holiday)

Admission: 300 yen; 150 for high school and college students; free for junior high students and younger, age 65 and older

Access: 15 min on foot from Motoyawata Station on the JR Sobu Line, 5 min from Ichikawa IC on the Keiyo Road

Inquiries: Chiba Museum of Science and Industry (047-379-2005)

URL: http://www.chiba-muse.or.jp/SCIENCE/

 

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