Welcome to the Chita Peninsula side quest. You might be wondering why it’s called a side quest. Well, in the last blog post, I had just finished doing my laundry and was staying in a place called Anjo. My original plan — or main quest — was to head to the northern side of Nagoya and spend some time with a Japanese family through a homestay. But they told me they wouldn’t be able to host me until the end of the month, which suddenly left me with about 10–12 free days.
Above, you’ll see a rough estimate of the route I took during this blog post. You might be wondering how I ended up deciding on it… well, it all started with pancakes.
The first dot on the map actually isn’t where I was staying in Anjo. It was about a 45-minute walk — almost 4 km away. But honestly, you can probably tell it was worth it. Custard-filled pancakes with a crème brûlée top, berries, and whipped cream. Absolutely no regrets.
The pancakes were creative fuel. My real plan was to sit down at the coffee shop, relax for a bit, and figure out where to go next. I already knew exploring Nagoya would probably take about a week, but that left me with another 4-5 days.
While looking around the map, I noticed the Chita Peninsula and thought it could be fun to explore. So while eating pancakes, I started researching whether it would be expensive to stay that far outside the city. To my surprise, it was way cheaper than I expected. At that point, it was an instant no-brainer — I decided to go.
The only issue was that the Chita area was completely booked for the first day, so instead I decided to stay in Tokoname.
And yeah, I know what you’re probably thinking: why does the line on the map go from Obu to Tokoname instead of from Anjo? Well, every time I tried to get directions, it kept giving me these ridiculously long routes. Eventually, I gave up and just walked to Obu myself before rerouting from there.
So the day ended up looking like this:
- 4 km to get pancakes
- 12 km walking to Obu Station
- another 20 km to Tokoname
Altogether, day 1 of the trip came out to around 36 km. Not exactly an easy way to start the side quest.
As usual, I ended up taking a lot of random scenery photos. I guess that’s what happens when you spend most of your life sitting in a room playing video games — even the most basic bits of nature start feeling interesting.
I will say, Google Maps is slowly trying to turn me into a full-fledged explorer at this rate. I swear I’ll be walking on a perfectly normal road, and then it’ll suddenly suggest a route that’s “slightly faster” while also sending me completely off the path into the middle of nowhere.
It was also getting really hot by this point, and I ended up using the last of my sunscreen.
As time went on and the sun started to set, I realized it was probably time for a very late lunch. I’d been told to try Komeda’s Coffee by what felt like every advertisement online and half the people in the Aichi area, so I finally gave in and went.
I don’t actually drink coffee, though, so I just ordered food instead.
When the hot dog menu said “egg salad,” I assumed it meant egg salad on a hot dog. It did not. It was literally just egg salad inside a hot dog bun. I also ordered a pork cutlet sandwich, which thankfully made a lot more sense.
At this point, though, a new problem started to appear. The area I was walking through had become very rural — basically just swampy fields and a road stretching forever. The road didn’t even have a proper walking shoulder, so for most of the trip I felt like I was playing Frogger trying to avoid traffic.
Once the sun fully disappeared, it somehow evolved into midnight Frogger with a headlamp on.
I took this photo before getting back on the road. At that point, I was actually more worried about someone calling the cops on me than I was about getting hit by a car.
Eventually, I arrived in a pottery town — pitch black at this point — with Google Maps basically trying to send me anywhere except where I actually needed to go. I’m not exaggerating either. I ended up squeezing through tight gaps between houses and even walking through a tunnel at one point just to stay on route.
After a while, I gave up and called my guesthouse host. I finally made it safely.
Shota, the owner, spoke great English and showed me around the place. It honestly felt incredible — like a mix between a snowboarding cabin and a traditional Japanese inn.
Check out these photos!
Also, I got a room upgrade. I was supposed to stay upstairs in the loft, but since I was the only guest that night, Shota let me take my own room instead. It honestly felt like the kind of place I’d want to stay in for a week with some friends — cooking, hanging out, and just taking it slow. I slept really well too.
Waking up the next morning, I had some good news. A girl from my language exchange app said she could hang out later in the day, and even better, the town she lives in was my next destination anyway.
But before leaving, I wanted to find breakfast. I asked Shota for recommendations, expecting a café or something simple, but instead he gave me something way better. He told me there was boat racing nearby. I had no idea that was even a thing. So of course, I had to check it out.
First things first though — I wanted to explore this so-called pottery town a bit and grab some breakfast.
I definitely started to understand why it’s called an old pottery town. You can feel it everywhere — the quiet streets, the old buildings, and little workshops tucked into corners that look like they’ve been there forever.
I also found someone in a small shack making fresh egg sandwiches, so breakfast was sorted.
And with that, it was off to the RACES.
Arriving at the boat racing venue was super cool at first. It only cost 100 yen to get in, and once you’re inside it’s surprisingly nice — just ignore the slightly old-school exterior.
I grabbed my newspaper with all the race information and immediately felt like I was ready to gamble. I was a bit nervous about how much I was going to spend, and also didn’t want to accidentally mess something up or upset anyone. It’s kind of like being in Vegas and making a mistake — people take money stuff seriously.
I thought I could just place bets on a machine in English, but nope. I had to fill out a card with a pencil, then pay at a machine afterwards. The problem is I don’t understand kanji, and I definitely don’t understand gambling vocabulary in Japanese.
So my first bet turned into a bit of chaos — me and the staff basically exchanging broken Japanese and English at the service counter for a few minutes. I might’ve even had a security guard help me figure out the terminal at one point. Honestly, I didn’t fully know what I was betting on.
But somehow… I won.
Not much — just a few hundred yen — but still, a win is a win.
At that point I got determined to figure it out properly. I looked up a quick guide on how the betting card worked, and suddenly it clicked. I felt weirdly confident after that.
So confident, in fact, that I bet on the next 3–4 races.
I ended up correctly guessing three of them and made about 1,700 yen (around $11). Feeling way too smart, I then promptly lost another 2,000 yen by getting cocky.
So overall… the boats won.
For 100 yen entry, being able to watch the races and place 100-yen bets, this was honestly a fantastic experience. I highly recommend it — just make sure you look up how to fill out the betting card before you go. Actually, I’ll probably make an Instagram video explaining it properly at some point. Stay tuned for that and follow me @nomadokai.
After the races, I decided it was time to head to the next town and meet my friend for dinner. The walk was fine — nothing too unusual — aside from Google Maps occasionally trying to send me across what it thought was a road, but was very much a river.
Eventually, I arrived in a town just below Taketoyo, where I met Chisato — a friend I had been talking to a few days earlier on the language exchange app HelloTalk.
She helped me find my guesthouse first, and then we headed out for dinner… or so I thought.
Instead, her parents saw us and immediately invited me to join them for dinner. I don’t think they fully realized I was basically a stranger she met online, but I just rolled with it.
We ended up having ramen and gyoza, and then ice cream from a convenience store afterwards. They paid for everything, which honestly still hurts my soul a little — I’m not great at accepting help, and up until now I’ve been stubbornly paying for everything like I’m financially stable… which I absolutely am not. I need to get better at letting people be kind without overthinking it.
After dinner, I hung out at their house for a bit and just talked. It was super cool that she spoke both English and Japanese and was able to translate between me and her parents. Before leaving, I asked her if she wanted to come with me to the islands when I reach the bottom of the peninsula. She said yes.
Then I headed back to my guesthouse to rest.
I woke up excited for the walk to Noma, an ocean-side city. I had found a really cheap room for two nights there, so I was feeling pretty good about it.
The walk started off slow… and very hot. Like, immediately regretting the fact that I had already run out of sunscreen kind of hot.
I took an early break at a café and ordered fresh apple juice, then asked if I could play with their dog.
Then the strangest thing happened. At the end of the road, an older man was just standing there, like a Pokémon trainer waiting for me to enter his field of vision.
We started talking, but quickly ran out of words we could both understand, so we moved over to translation apps. I usually don’t like using the phone for conversations, but he was genuinely interested in talking, so I played along.
We ended up walking together for about half an hour before he took me into a drugstore and bought me sunscreen and water. I still don’t really know why he was being so kind to me, but I wasn’t about to question it.
Then he invited me to a ramen shop for lunch.
He showed me a bunch of pictures of places he’d been and photos of his family. Then he just paid the bill and left like it was nothing. A true legend, if you ask me.
I wish more Japanese people would talk to me — whether in Japanese or English. These kinds of real interactions and small connections genuinely make my day so much better.
Arriving at my guesthouse was interesting. I was on the third floor, reached by a narrow spiral staircase. The family I was staying with were super nice and welcoming. They even helped me with my laundry!
Later, I went out for a convenience store dinner and tried to be a bit healthy about it — a green smoothie, salad, a croissant, and a piece of fried chicken.
Then it was the day — the day I was going to visit the islands with my friend Chisato.
The owner of the house I was staying at drove me to the port, and from there we took a boat to Himakajima.
It’s a small island, easily walkable, but biking it sounded like more fun.
It was really fun riding bikes out in the open like that — just free and easy. It took us about 45 minutes to do a quick loop around the island before we returned the bikes.
After that, we decided to do a second lap on foot so we could take everything in a bit more.
The first thing we ran into was the “Anywhere Door” from Doraemon. I was trying to explain how to take the photo so it looks like you’re opening a door into the outside world. I think I did an incredible job with the shot, if I’m being honest.
Right next to it was a rope swing. I’m going to include the photos I took because Chisato’s pictures of me were… less flattering.
I think, for someone who isn’t a photographer, I did a pretty good job.
Right next to the swing was this tunnel-like path made of plants that I wandered into, and she didn’t want to follow at first. She eventually did though, and it turned out to be a shortcut to the next area. ADVENTURE!!!
I’m pretty sure she was just waiting for me to be the test dummy.
After that, we stopped for some snacks at two local stands — one selling cheesecake and another grilling fish right there on the spot.
I’d never had puffer fish before, so we tried Fugu.
You know how your parents always tell you everything is “chicken” when you’re a kid? Or how in movies people say “it tastes like chicken”? This honestly tasted exactly like chicken.
Also, I watched Chisato eat the bones for fun. Very strange.
Before we got on the boat to head to the next island, we had to try octopus since that’s what the island is famous for.
For me, it was very chewy. So basically chewing on suction cups for an extended period of time didn’t make me love it — but it wasn’t bad either.
To the next island we went: Shinojima. By the way, “jima” just means island in Japanese.
This island felt completely different from the last one. It wasn’t set up in a super touristy way, and there were barely any people going to it. We used the best navigation strategy in the book and asked the first kid we saw “right or left,” then just followed their direction.
We ended up going all the way until we hit a dead end at a shrine. After that, we just kept walking up… and up… and up. At that point it was basically just residential houses everywhere.
We didn’t see any food places, so we headed toward the beach side instead. Google Maps told us there was supposed to be an ice cream shop, but it was closed when we got there. That was a bit of a low point, and I could tell Chisato wasn’t having as much fun as earlier.
Then, out of nowhere, some locals zoomed past on a moped. Then again. And again.
Their vibe was immaculate. They were having free unfiltered fun, being themselves.
I finally worked up the courage to ask where we could find food, and they pointed us toward a small shack down the street.
That’s where we got dango, ice cream, and chicken rice.
It’s important to always interact with people, and here’s why.
After we ate, we decided to head back. But when we checked the ferry schedule, the boat was leaving in 10 minutes — and the next one wasn’t for another 2 hours. We didn’t stand a chance.
Then the same locals from earlier came over to greet us again. At this point, things were definitely above my paygrade, so Chisato explained the situation because my Japanese is still pretty basic.
They called over their friend, and he just told us to get in the back of his truck.
Absolute magic.
Suddenly we were driving about 30 mph in the back of a truck, wind blasting, heading straight for the port.
When we got back to the mainland, her dad picked us up and took us to a beach festival with food trucks and music. It was a really nice atmosphere — just people hanging out by the water, eating, and listening to music.
I even got to show off my “awesome” basketball skills… although I wasn’t wearing my glasses, so I missed pretty much everything.
The cherry on top was that Chisato had recently gotten her driver’s license, so she did some of the driving. We made it there in one piece, but she definitely needs a bit more practice with parking. lol.
Writing this now, I realize something. For all the bad interactions, misunderstandings, or people who leave me on read… there are also people who make it all worth it. And Chisato was one of those people.
After I got back to my place, it was straight to bed.
The next morning, I walked down to a new area I wanted to explore, but there was nothing there — like literally nothing. Just grass. The map had made it seem like there was more, but there wasn’t.
So I got on a train and headed back to Obu, where the journey had started.
Next up: Nagoya for a week… and then my homestay.
Sorry, I’m still catching up on blog posts. The walk is really intense physically and mentally right now.