Bus VS Local Trains In Ibaraki And Tochigi Prefectures - Part 1

Another “bus team versus train team” race begins! This time, two three-member teams will start from Kashima Soccer Stadium in Ibaraki Prefecture and travel by either only buses or just trains to an observation tower in Kinugawa, Tochigi Prefecture. They must pass three checkpoints - which are northern Kanto’s popular tourist attractions - and complete missions at each place before advancing to the next checkpoint. Whichever team arrives at the observation tower first wins the race. Both teams also have a taxi budget of 10,000 yen for the two days.

The first checkpoint the two teams must reach is Fukasaku Farm in Hokota City, 16km away from the soccer stadium. After making enquiries, the bus team finds out there is a community bus which goes to Kashimanada Station, which is 6km away from the farm. It is now 8.55am and the bus leaves at 9am. However, the team cannot find the bus stop near the stadium and ends up going the wrong way. 

The train team, meanwhile, decides to take the Kashima Rinkai Railway from Kashimajingu Station. They have to walk more than 3km to the station first. By the time they reach Kashimajingu Station at 9.25am, the train bound for Taiyo Station has already left. The next train is at 10.40am. 

The bus team finds another bus stop called Wellport and catches the 9.50am bus which takes a different route to Kashimanada Station. They enquire about transferring buses to go to Hokota and are told there are no buses from Kashimanada which go to Fukasaku Farm. The bus ride to Kashimanada Station takes half an hour and the team walks for 6km from here to the farm.

The train team finally takes the train at 10.40am from Kashimajingu Station to Taiyo Station. They then walk for 3km to Fukasaku Farm. The bus team reaches Fukasaku Farm first and the train team arrives a while later.

Ibaraki is known for melons and Hokota City has been the biggest producer and exporter of melons for more than two decades. Fukasaku Farm was established more than 100 years ago. It not only grows vegetables and fruits but also serves dishes and desserts made with melons. Both teams must complete a mission at the farm, which is to guess its most popular product. They have to finish one dessert first before ordering the next one. They must continue ordering and eating the desserts until they correctly identify the most popular one.

Both teams try various desserts such as the fluffy melon roll, which has fresh melon pieces mixed in the cream; melon bread, which has a rich cream made with melon juice; and melon jelly. The bus team manages to correctly identify the melon parfait, which has melon jelly, melon pieces and rich melon-flavoured soft-serve ice cream, as the most popular product. The farm gets up to 120 orders of this dessert each day. The bus team can advance to the second checkpoint, Twin Ring Motegi, which is 70km away. 

Located in Tochigi Prefecture, Twin Ring Motegi is a large-scale theme park with one of the world's best race tracks. Besides the international racecourse, there is also an amusement park with camping grounds and restaurants. To get to Motegi from Fukasaku Farm, the bus team rides a taxi to the bus terminal at Hokota Station, takes a bus to Mito Station and then transfers buses. However, the bus only goes up to the Gozenyama Shoko bus stop. So they have to walk on a mountain road the rest of the way - about 8km - to Twin Ring Motegi.

After correctly guessing the most popular item at Fukasaku Farm, the train team can finally advance. They take the Kashima Rinkai Railway and head north to the terminal, Mito Station. They then switch to the JR Mito Line, go to Shimodate Station, transfer trains and travel on Moka Railway to Motegi Station.

The bus team arrives at Twin Ring Motegi after walking for one and a half hours. Their mission here is to do a relay race at the Moto Racer and finish in less than two and a half minutes. They take on the challenge on small motorbikes. They succeed in the mission after seven tries and can move on to the third checkpoint of Nakagawa Aquatic Park in Otawara. It is the biggest aquarium in Tochigi Prefecture.

In the meantime, the train team arrives at Motegi Station and decides to book a taxi for later. They then walk through a flat urban area for 2km and board the booked taxi at Hayashi Iriguchi to continue their journey to Twin Ring Motegi on the inclined mountain road. 

Meanwhile, the bus team wants to transfer buses to go to the checkpoint at Otawara, 40km away. However, the last bus has already left Motegi Station. The bus team are told that the first bus will leave at 6.30am the next day and go to Ichihana Station. From there, they can take a community bus to Karasuyama Station, the nearest station to the third checkpoint. The bus team decides to spend the night at Hotel Twin Ring in Motegi. 

As for the train team, it takes them multiple attempts to complete the motorbike relay race mission at Twin Ring Motegi. It is late by this time so the team decides to take the first train the next morning from Motegi Station to Karasuyama Station. Like the bus team, the train team will also stay overnight at Motegi.

Tips:

1)    Hokota City in Ibaraki Prefecture is known for its sweet and delicious melons 
2)    A popular attraction in Tochigi Prefecture is Twin Ring Motegi, a racecourse with an attached theme park