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Still lovely, but minus the waffles
After a few months of making vague promises to my children to return to “the treehouse park”, we returned to Tsubaki Mori Komuna today. It was just as pleasant as last time - perhaps even more so! The trees were just as lovely as last time, and the fluttering of a few yellow leaves in the slight breeze onto the tabletops was honestly a nice touch! While it was bustling by Chiba standards, it was quieter than our last (admittedly mid-Golden Week) visit and we were able to get a table with relative ease. The food was still enjoyable and the wait times were shorter. One thing to note is that the delicious waffles and chai lattes do not seem to be available anymore. While there is still a booth, it was shuttered, which seems a bit ominous given it was a public holiday with unseasonably mild weather. Even more ominously, there’s no mention on their website or Instagram anymore. The tent rental also doesn’t seem to be an available anymore either, though it’s hard to say if that’s a seasonal thing or not - after all, it is late autumn, even if the weather hadn’t quite realized it. In any case, it’s still a lovely place to eat, the food is nice, and the kids once again had a great time playing. A pair of tree-shaped chalkboards added a very nice touch.
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on May 14
Burgers and Treehouses!
Tsubakimori Komuna had been on my radar for awhile, but it wasn't until Golden Week that I finally visited it for the first time, along with my children. Located across the road from Chiba park, it matches the greenery and quirkiness of the surrounding area perfectly. Despite being only a short walk from the bustle of JR Chiba station and an even shorter walk from Chibakoen station on the monorail line, visiting Tsubakimori Komuna feels like straying into a whole other park, one that happens to be in the middle of the forest. It's made up of now three food trucks/stands with treehouses in the trees above, a rope bridge swinging between them. Tents and a large bubble-like structure are available to be rented by the hour as well, though it is more than satisfactory to just find a regular table tucked into one corner or another and eat under the trees. As wonderful as the aesthetic experience is, the food makes it even better. The original food truck seems to be the burger/fries ones and it definitely attracted the longest lines. Attached to it is a newer truck, Tiny Curry; on the day we attended, the curry was being served out of the burger truck as well so I'm not sure how this works at other times. The newest food stand is literally called Yummy Waffle and it duly sells some seriously delicious waffles. I was delighted by the caramel chai latte that I ordered and my hopes that my children would let me eat some of the delicious waffle sandwiches were dashed when they ate the whole things themselves. We also tried the burger-and-fries truck and while I wouldn't go past the chance to have a fish and chips set myself, I can tell you that the fries were delicious too. We had a great time there and I am sure we will head back. There are a couple of downsides that prospective visitors should be aware of, though. One, due to it being so thoroughly open air, it closes on rainy days; you can check their Instagram or website to confirm opening times in advance. The second one is more just something to bear in mind, and that's the limitations of their green approach. They are very inspired by nature aesthetically and they've done a great job, but that's about as far as their green approach goes. I read something about a discount for "keep cups", but the rubbish wasn't sorted in any way that I could see (aside from the glass bottles), the menu/s didn't feature any vegan/vegetarian options that I could readily see, and customers were asked to even put their standard water bottles/thermos out of sight, albeit inconsistently. This wasn't a dealbreaker for me personally and I know Chiba's not the easiest market in which to try new things, but I do hope they are able to expand on their environmental principles and adopt some more green approaches in the future. In the meantime, we had a lovely time. I got to relax amid the greenery and the kids definitely had a great time running up and down and around the treehouses. I've already been asked to return there in the future and fingers crossed that Tsubakimori Komuna enjoys enough success for that to happen!
Lyssays
on Nov 3