{"id":1451,"date":"2011-04-18T17:00:39","date_gmt":"2011-04-18T16:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/insidejapanblog.com\/?p=1451"},"modified":"2026-04-22T16:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:09:17","slug":"chiba-prefecture-who-knew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/2011\/04\/18\/chiba-prefecture-who-knew\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiba Prefecture. Who knew?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Like this post? Help us by sharing it!<\/h4><ul class=\"wpfai-list\"><li class=\"wpfai-list-item facebook\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451&amp;t=\" title=\"Facebook\" class=\"wpfai-facebook wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-facebook fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item twitter\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451\" title=\"Twitter\" class=\"wpfai-twitter wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-twitter fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item pinterest\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451&amp;description=&amp;media=\" title=\"Pinterest\" class=\"wpfai-pinterest wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-pinterest fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item linkedin\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451&amp;title=\" title=\"Linked In\" class=\"wpfai-linkedin wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-linkedin fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item envelope\">\r\n      <a href=\"mailto:?subject=&amp;body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451%20-%20\" title=\"E-Mail\" class=\"wpfai-envelope wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-envelope fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item stumbleupon\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stumbleupon.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451\" title=\"Stumble Upon\" class=\"wpfai-stumbleupon wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-stumbleupon fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item reddit\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reddit.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451\" title=\"Reddit\" class=\"wpfai-reddit wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-reddit fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><\/ul><figure id=\"attachment_1455\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1455\" style=\"width: 282px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/chiba_edited-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1455\" title=\"Chiba\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/chiba_edited-1-283x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"282\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/chiba_edited-1-283x300.jpg 283w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/chiba_edited-1-390x414.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/chiba_edited-1.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1455\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>My colleague calls it the armpit of Japan. Well, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chiba_Prefecture\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chiba<\/a> certainly has a distinctive shape; a huge prefecture sticking out at a great ugly right-angle, like a protective claw around Tokyo bay. And it feeds the capital too, providing millions upon millions of cheap concrete apartment blocks that spew fourth commuters every morning. Like lemmings, Chiba-jin make the soul-destroying journey into the city for 12 hour plus working days.<\/p>\n<p>So far, so depressing.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1454\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1454\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/800px-chiba_makuhari_oka1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1454\" title=\"800px-Chiba_Makuhari_Oka1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/800px-chiba_makuhari_oka1-300x135.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/800px-chiba_makuhari_oka1-300x135.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/800px-chiba_makuhari_oka1-720x324.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/800px-chiba_makuhari_oka1-390x176.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/800px-chiba_makuhari_oka1-780x351.jpg 780w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/800px-chiba_makuhari_oka1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1454\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chiba tower blocks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But recently and (it\u2019s not often I type this) thanks to the mysterious powers of Google, I stumbled across a wonderful project that makes me think there may be more to Chiba than meets the eye.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Gankoyama<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gankoyama.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gankoyama Tree House Village<\/a> is exactly the sort of place that sets my Japanophile heart aflutter. It turns out that deep in the heart of Boso Peninsula untouched forests and mountains remain. What\u2019s more, the residents intend to keep it that way. It\u2019s just two hours from Tokyo, but it\u2019s a world apart, no, a dimension apart. For here the Japanese are reconnecting to their roots: to Shintoism, where spirits or kami live in every natural thing. It\u2019s like going back to the time Japan forgot.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1458\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1458\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/treeclimb_j.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1458\" title=\"treeclimb_j\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/treeclimb_j-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1458\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tree climbing at Gankoyama<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1460\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1460\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/treehouse_room_k.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1460\" title=\"treehouse_room_k\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/treehouse_room_k-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1460\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inside a tree house<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Gankoyama was set up in 1998 by Yoshinori Hiraga. Nostalgic for his childhood spent climbing trees and playing in the forest, he set up the Tree House Village to teach Japanese and foreign visitors to reconnect with nature. Tellingly his website says that these days people need to be taught how to play and the Gankoyama \u2018master\u2019 programme does just that.<\/p>\n<p>A typical one night stay at Gankoyama may run as follows: In the first afternoon you&#8217;ll try tree climbing and learn how to handle a rope, tying the knots necessary to make a hammock or swing. At 4pm wood chopping begins, then everyone will cook dinner together over an open fire. Your accommodation for the night is, of course, in a tree house or you may want to test your own hammock. Next day why not go hiking, mountain biking, learn a craft, try yoga or learn about renewable energy used at Gankoyama &#8211; the choice is yours. Lunch is usually pizza which is prepared by guests and baked in an outdoor wood burning oven.<\/p>\n<p>Gankoyama is run on sustainable principles using resources only from the immediate environment. The camp is powered by the solar panels and wind generator on site. Meals are vegetarian from locally grown ingredients and cooked on an open fire, so no electricity is involved. A hot solar-powered shower is always available, a flushing bio-compost toilet is on site and electrical outlets powered by solar energy can also be used to recharge camera batteries and mobile phones if required.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Brown&#8217;s Field<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was recently introduced to another fine example of sustainable tourism on the Boso Peninsula: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brownsfield-jp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brown\u2019s Field<\/a>. This is much more than your average rural ryokan stay. Instead it is a country retreat where people can experience a natural and healthy lifestyle in tune with the traditional Japanese sensibility of living in harmony with nature.<\/p>\n<p>This is a wonderful place to unwind, relax, and reflect on your time in Japan amid beautiful surroundings. You can do as little or as much as you like here: enjoy a good book, walk around the rice paddies, cycle through bamboo groves or pet the farm animals. If you don\u2019t mind getting your hands dirty, you can even borrow a shovel and help out in the vegetable patch.<\/p>\n<p>Guests at this working farm stay either in the main building, a Meiji era barn, or alternatively in one of two Okinawa-style treehouses. You\u2019ll be made to feel part of the family here as staff and guests sit down together for meals around a large communal table. The food is fresh vegetables grown either at Brown\u2019s Field or from neighbouring organic farmers. It is 100% vegan and the speciality is the homemade miso and soy sauce.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1462\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1462\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1462 \" title=\"PICT0416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0416-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0416-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0416-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0416-1200x799.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0416-720x479.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0416-1440x959.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0416-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0416-780x519.jpg 780w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0416-900x599.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1462\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dinner time at Brown&#8217;s Field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/tonymcnicol.photoshelter.com\/gallery\/Browns-Field-organic-farm-Aug-2009\/G0000b3eDQrYDLIE\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brown\u2019s Field<\/a> was set up by essayist and natural foods cooking teacher Deco Nakajima and her husband, writer\/photographer Everett Kennedy Brown. Like Gankoyama, Brown\u2019s Field is designed to minimise its environmental impact. Bathrooms are shared with compost toilets, and a grey water system is used in which used water runs though a simple purification system and is returned directly to the earth.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0494.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1464\" title=\"PICT0494\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0494-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0494-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0494-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0494-1200x799.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0494-720x479.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0494-1440x959.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0494-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0494-780x519.jpg 780w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0494-900x599.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1463\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1463\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0429.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1463\" title=\"PICT0429\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0429-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0429-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0429-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0429-1200x799.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0429-720x479.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0429-1440x959.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0429-390x260.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0429-780x519.jpg 780w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/pict0429-900x599.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1463\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beautiful Chiba countryside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4>Like this post? Help us by sharing it!<\/h4><ul class=\"wpfai-list\"><li class=\"wpfai-list-item facebook\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451&amp;t=\" title=\"Facebook\" class=\"wpfai-facebook wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-facebook fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item twitter\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451\" title=\"Twitter\" class=\"wpfai-twitter wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-twitter fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item pinterest\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451&amp;description=&amp;media=\" title=\"Pinterest\" class=\"wpfai-pinterest wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-pinterest fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item linkedin\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451&amp;title=\" title=\"Linked In\" class=\"wpfai-linkedin wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-linkedin fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item envelope\">\r\n      <a href=\"mailto:?subject=&amp;body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451%20-%20\" title=\"E-Mail\" class=\"wpfai-envelope wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-envelope fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item stumbleupon\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stumbleupon.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451\" title=\"Stumble Upon\" class=\"wpfai-stumbleupon wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-stumbleupon fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item reddit\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reddit.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F1451\" title=\"Reddit\" class=\"wpfai-reddit wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-reddit fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like this post? Help us by sharing it! My colleague calls it the armpit of Japan. Well, Chiba certainly has a distinctive shape; a huge prefecture sticking out at a great ugly right-angle, like a protective claw around Tokyo bay. And it feeds the capital too, providing millions upon millions of cheap concrete apartment blocks [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2362],"tags":[1365,1406,1546,2156,2254],"class_list":["post-1451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-places-and-where-to-stay-in-japan","tag-browns-field","tag-chiba","tag-gankoyama","tag-sustainable-tourism","tag-tree-house"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1451"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36703,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1451\/revisions\/36703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}