After a good night sleep, we were ready to go for our Hakone 2D1N trip. Hakone is a little further away from Tokyo and we were advised to get the Hakone FreePass which would cover all transport modes in Hakone. That evening after we reached Shinjuku from Disneyland, after our dinner, we went to search for the Odakyu Office to buy our FreePass. The officer at the counter, told me that I only needed to pay for the 2 adults and kids travel free. But what we did not know is the "Romance Car" which was basically the train from Shinjuku to Hakone, needed separate tickets.
So when we stepped into the Romance Car, we were filled many question marks and we had to change seats three times before a conductor came to explain to us. So we paid for our tickets and finally settled down. This was the same day which Typhoon hit central Japan and I had friends and relatives asking if we were okay.
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| selfie after settling down |
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the boy seemed oblivious to the hoohaa on the tickets saga
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| finally we got our tickets sorted out |
We arrived at Hakone-Odawara Station which we had to take their Hakone Tozan Railway Train to Kowakidani Station. When we arrived at the station, we found ourselves middle of nowhere. But really, thanks be to God. I spotted our ryokan shuttle bus. So I hurried over to ask the driver and showed him my reservation.
We arrived our Hotel Mizunoto but next, is another series of confusion again. We wanted to take a bus to Gotemba Premium Outlet. As it was a rainy day plus a lack of clear direction, we went to the wrong bus stop repeatedly. It took a while to comprehend the hand-drawn map to the right bus stop. But it was raining so heavily and there was no shelter at the bus stop. The only shelter we had was the public toilets.
After a long wait like 10-15minutes in the rain, the bus to Gotemba finally arrived. That bus driver was however, the first and only impatient Japanese we met in our whole trip. The bus was packed, I thought perhaps was due to the heavy rain. It was a 50 minute drive to Gotemba and we finally arrived late into the afternoon, about 3pm. The boys were hungry but they were surprisingly quite well behaved. They didn't kick a big fuss but just walked quickly to the food court.
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| my lunch |
By then, I had figured out their transport system and also realised we had to book our "Romance Car" back tomorrow. So when we got our fill, recharged and refreshed, we went shopping. It was drizzling lightly so we were able to shop a bit.
We ended up with Polo Ralph for the boys and a Gucci bag for myself.
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| my new luv |
Now equipped with the knowledge on the bus schedule and routes, we knew how to time ourselves and where to alight. By the time we reached Hotel Mizunoto, it was already past 7pm. Dinner was served at 8pm upon our request. It was an exquisite traditional Japanese dinner akin to fine dining style.
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| appeitizer |
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| kid's meal |
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| light soup to clear your palate |
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| Fresh Sashimi |
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| Grilled Salmon |
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| beef sabu-sabu |
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| pork sabu tabu |
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| chef's special, grilled mushroom |
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| chestnut rice |
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| dessert |
This meal compensated our bad experience with the impatient bus driver in the afternoon. We had a good dinner, partly because of the dinner and partly we had a waitress that could speak good English. Turned out she had worked in Singapore for 3 years so we chatted like we have known for a long time. She was very attentive to our needs.
By now, it was storming outside and yeah! We took turns to go onsen while the boys slept. It was my first onsen experience and I really liked it and had such a good sleep that night. I think it also got to do with a whole bed to myself while the 3 males decided to crowd at the tatami.
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| complimentary sweet treats and green tea |
Breakfast was served between 7am to 9.30am. We chose the 9am timing. The Japanese breakfast took me by surprise again. The quantity was huge and early morning, we got to BBQ our fish. I didn't took a photo of the kid's meal which was also a huge portion. Too busy with the BBQ and nibbling bits and pieces of everything everywhere.
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| Good Morning Hakone! |
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| our breakfast set |
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| too much too much for a breakfast |
It was a fine morning. The sun was up and it was bright and cheery. The air was fresh and we proceeded to our adventure, looking for Mt Fuji.
We took a bus to Gora and transferred to their railway which looked more of a tram to me. We wanted to take their cable car which they termed as ropeway.
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| Hakone Tozan Railway |
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| volcanic activity just right behind |
It was an exciting cable car ride because the wind was strong and there was volcanic activity at Owakudani. We were given wet tissue to cover our nose, which Jonathan exclaimed it smell like bad hard boiled egg. He got the right descriptive because the sulphur made the bad smell.
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| real volcanic activity |
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| where black eggs come from |
We went on to Lake Ashinoko. We were quite dismayed the ferry was not in operation. But again, God was watching out for us. He made it possible for us again. It was another case of miscommunication that we lingered around the lake. Because we lingered around, we saw that the ferry was back in operation and we made a quick dash to the jetty for boarding.
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| beautiful view Lake Ashinoko |
Because we had the opportunity to cruise in the ferry around Lake Ashinoko, we spotted the majestic Mt Fuji, much to the delight of Jonathan.
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| awed by Mt Fuji's majesty |
When we got back to the station, we lingered longer than should at the souvenir shop. That's a very bad decision because it meant it is a mad rush back to hotel to retrieve our luggage and a mad rush to Odawara station to catch our train back to Tokyo-Shinjuku.
I really have to give it to God. Because once again, by His divine intervention, the bus stopped longer than usual while we chased down from Gora station. Turned out a Singaporean was asking direction from the bus driver, hence it explained why the bus didn't drive off. What can I say? But thank you God for looking out for us. Otherwise, we would be so stranded.
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| finally caught the "Romance Car" |
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| Train Bento Set |
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| Train Snack |
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| Jonathan's Bento |
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| My Tea Snack |
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| Everything had to be so cute |
After feeding ourselves with train bento sets, everyone fell asleep as we journeyed back to Tokyo-Shinjuku. This round, we just headed straight to Hotel Granbell after alighting.
For the next 2 nights which were also our last 2 nights in Tokyo, I had booked ourselves a Villa Suite to stay. Located at Level 17, their highest level, we had a good view of the Shinjuku landscape.
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| bedroom area |
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| entrance leading to living area |
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| stretch to bathroom and outdoor bath |
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| bathtub and shower area |
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| outdoor bath |
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| Splendid Night View |
The Villa was a good bargain, at least to me. The spacious suite meant the boys had enough space to play by themselves while the adults got busy with the packing and unpacking, and me chasing the laundry game again. It had been a very, very good holiday, thus far. The next 2 days would make it count even more.
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