Firsts in Ibaraki

It was a long ride from Chubu to Ibaraki. That includes getting lost at my least favorite station in Japan. (Shinjuku). I wore myself out at the gym and by virtually chatting with people before travelling so I could fall asleep in the bus, but that didn't work. Google doesn't give very routes getting to our first destination- Hitachi Seaside Park. If you intend to travel, you must be aware that the last stop on the JR line should be Katsuta. There is also a bus from downtown Tsukuba to Hitachi- much cheaper but leaves 6:58AM and 3 in the afternoon.

So here is the list of firsts:

1. STROLLING THROUGH RED BUSHES (コキア）I originally saw it off a spread on National Geographic magazine when I was little and it has been on my bucket list ever since. 

2. MANEUVERING A TWO-PERSON BIKE.It was hard to control at first, but with proper lower limb coordination it got us places in no time. Great team-building activity for couples. LOL.













3. EXPERIENCING AN EARTHQUAKE
But I had a feeling my trip to Ibaraki wouldn't be complete without it. This place is always on the news because it was nearest to the epicenter of an earthquake.

4. NOT GOING ON A NIHON-RYORI FOODTRIP.
We had a couple of flavored highballs for dinner at an izakaya, but completely forgot about eating NATTO. I was hoping for Natto-flavored ice-cream/ soft serve at some point of the trip, but it never came to pass.

5. BAMBOO-CHARCOAL INFUSIONSThe one thing I came to Japan for was to study food technology the fun way. Burger King Japan recently added these black babies to their menu, made possible by bamboo-charcoal. I am so stealing this idea when I put up a resto in PH. My friend went all '幸せ!' after she swallowed the last of her Kuro Diamond burger. It's not an Ibaraki culinary thing. We just happened to spot a branch and went straight for it. No American food back in the mountains of 長野 :(




6. ENTERING A BYOUIN. I'm the kind of person who avoids trips to the doctor coz I think I can take care of myself since I used to belong to the medical field. I was able to go, not because I was sick or anything, but for meeting a friend. Oh another first... meeting up at a hospital's cafe. That's never happened before. Haha.