New Social Residence Narita opening in April 2017, with great access to the city!
Located in a quiet residential neighborhood surrounded by nature in Yachiyo, Chiba. Closest to Toyo-Katsutadai station on the Toyo Rapid Line, it connects straight through the Tokyo Metro Tozai line as well, making it easy to get into Tokyo. Get to Nihonbashi, Waseda, Takadanobaba with no transfers. Plus, it's the first stop on the line so you'll probably be able to get a seat. It's just 30 minutes to Narita Airport, and you can even see airplanes taking off from the house. In this edition, we explored around Katsutadai to show you what living here has to offer!

Bustling shopping just outside the station
Just outside the south exit of the closest station Katsutadai you will find many shops, including produce, meat, bakeries, restaurants, and more. There are also drug stores by the rotary so you can get all your daily shopping taken care of on your way home. The north side has many izakaya and nice cafes and bars too.

Eat all the fresh strawberries you like!
10 minutes away by car, you can find this strawberry field. They grow strawberries using hydroponic cultivation, and it's strawberries as far as the eye can see. Eat them with condensed milk or chocolate, even! There are so many varieties to try: the Miharuno farmers recommended the strawberries with a rich peachy taste. You can also visit by bus!

Miharuno Strawberry Field
Chiba, Chiba city, Hanamigawa
URL：http://www.chibacity-ta.or.jp/ichigogari

Great Indian curry
Off a narrow street from the north exit is Indian curry restaurant PERFECTO. It has a modern interior and a robust menu. We tried the lunch special double curry. You can choose between 4 levels of spiciness.
The restaurant is staffed by foreigners and Japanese people too. It's a perfectly reasonable spot!

PEREFCTO North Indian Cuisine
Chiba, Yachiyo, Katsutadai 1-14-70
URL：https://www.facebook.com/restaurant.perfecto

A cute cake shop in a magnificent building
VINROSÉ is lit by natural light, and from the outside it might not even look like a cake shop at first glance. It's a 5-minute walk from the station. They had a variety of lovely cakes, so many you might find it hard to choose! Luckily(?) for us, quite a few varieties were already sold out by the time we got there, making our choice a little easier!

VIN ROSÉ
Chiba, Yachiyo, Katsutadai 1-36-10
URL：http://www.katsutadai.info/vinrose

Relax in the park
Yachiyo city has many parks where you can relax amongst nature. There are also many places beloved by birdwatchers. They often see shrikes, finches, and Japanese white-eyes. There is also an observation desk on the lake in the middle of Kurosawa park. There is an information board listing all the different species you might find in the park. Obviously we were too early in the year, but the sakura season is probably gorgeous here.

Bakery in a rose garden
Right next to Kurosawaike park is a long-running French restaurant, Kaigaratei. The building looks like it was transplanted directly from Europe, and it looks beautiful in the spring with white roses. Also there is Le Jardin de Soleil, a bakery, and we were ready for tea time.
The first thing you see when you enter is all the great-looking cakes. Upstairs is a space where people can eat lunch or take tea. Cakes again? No problem! Afterward we strolled through the garden. It was too early for roses, but the green was more than enough for us. Definitely check this place out!

Kaigaratei Le Jardin de Soleil
Chiba, Yachiyo, Katsutadai Kita 2-4-2
URL：http://www.gpi-group.co.jp/soleil/

The local eatery
All the locals know and love Kadoichi. It's about 3 minutes from the south side of the station, and is always lively. In addition to the alcohol menu, they have yakitori and other snacks, all at a reasonable price close to home.

Kadoichi
Chiba, Yachiyo, Katsutadai Kita 1-14-2
URL：https://tabelog.com/chiba/A1202/A120204/12006616/

So how did you like Katsutadai? It's not a place most people are familiar with, but it has a lot to offer in an easy-to-live neighborhood. There were tons of hidden gems and holes-in-the-walls we couldn't get to this time, so either wait for our second edition, or go explore yourself, when you're living in Social Residence Narita!