It’s rainy season in Japan, so amidst being quite busy at work, we’ve had a lot of cloudy, gloomy weather that sometimes makes us feel like…well…like we need to ESCAPE!!!! Especially living in Tokyo, which often feels kind of imposing with building after building after building. So, we decided to take a day trip using the Misaki Maguro Kippu, a day pass that provides 1) Transportation to & from Shinagawa and Misaki Port, as well as around Misaki Port and Jogushima Island, 2) a free activity for the day, and 3) a free meal at one of the many restaurants that specialize in tuna. The entire area is famous for tuna, and the locals claim their tuna is better than even Tsukiji‘s! A big fish market there sold toroman, which is like nikuman but with tuna, and we decided to split one as a mid-morning snack. It was kind of weird, but that could be because we were just expecting normal nikkuman flavor.
For our meal, we decided to go to Kurobatei, a restaurant made famous by the show Bizarre Foods (click to see the episode), that mostly sells really delicious, normal food. In Bizarre Foods, the host orders the tuna head, which apparently needs to be requested 3 days in advance, and is oven cooked for at least four hours before serving. Needless to say, this is not the dish we tried.

                                        A little truck outside the restaurant
                                                      Parts of the tunaChad ordered a sashimi boat that came with rice and miso soup. There was a crazy fish head looking at him throughout the meal… I ordered the tempura set, which also came with some sashimi in the bowl (and of course, miso soup!). Everything was really delicious, and the staff were incredibly friendly. We were so glad we tried Kurobatei, a place we never would have gone if it weren’t for our Misaki Maguro Kippu!
After lunch I chose to go to a glass shop to use my activity ticket. I made a little jar with a kitty cat and Mount Fuji resting on some layered sand (picture on instagram soon!). Then we grabbed a couple donuts from Misaki Donuts and took the bus to the very beautiful Jogashima.
The donuts had a really nice mochi mochi texture. This was a berry donut.On Jogashima, everywhere you walked you saw beautiful nature. The entire little island is just so refreshing and relaxing. *sighs*
Can you see the old, broken down shrine in the cave back there? We hiked all over the island. (Pardon my crazy hair–there was a nice breeze all day!) 
The water was so clear! From the picture it may look like just a bunch of shells, but actually, the whole area was bustling with hermit crabs and other crabs alike! They were really fun to watch (until Chad starting chasing a crab toward me and I thought I might break my ankle running away 😉 ).
Our trip ended with Chad using his activity ticket to go to an onsen (hot spring) while I soaked my feet in a little foot bath and watched the sunset. We had such a nice day trip, and plan to try and go on more little weekend adventures in the future!

Where is a place you’ve gone on a day trip recently, or a place you’d like to go? Our trip was quite spontaneous, so perhaps you’ll be on your next day trip sooner than you think, too!

xx Caitlyn

P.S. If you’re living in the Tokyo area and you’re wondering about the Misaki Maguro Kippu, it can be purchased at most Keikyu stations (we got ours when we transferred at Shinagawa) for around 3000 yen. This turns out to be quite a good deal, saving you about 2000 yen on average.