Hakone Day 2!

Woke up to a nice weather and we were able to see Mt Fuji from the balcony of our hotel! It was covered by the clouds yesterday when we arrived. The view is so magnificent and I could just spend the whole day looking at it. And me in my sleepy mode (STILL) just happily enjoyed the view and forgot to take any photos of it! We then checked out of the hotel and waited for the bus right in front of our hotel to Gotemba Premium Outlet. The bus will stop right at the entrance of the premium outlet and the journey from our hotel took about an hour. However you can enjoy great scenery along the way as it goes up the mountain. And of course closer and clearer view of Mt Fuji which totally awed all of us as everyone in the bus was screaming and pointing outside.

Gotemba Premium Outlet

Mt Fuji from Gotemba Premium Outlet

Mt Fuji showing her beauty!

The design and concept is the same as the Johor Bahru Premium Outlet Mall but definitely there is more stores here! The weather was just nice and every store was having big sales that we got a bit out of control!!

After an hour or so of shopping, we decided to stop by the food court to have lunch. The food court is very spacious and filled with many variety of food.

Pork Ramen

Grilled Beef with rice!

 Though we were all full from the ramen, we just had to order this XL Grilled Beef! It smelled so nice when we walked past the store and there was a long queue. You can choose the size of the beef and we took the XL one to share. The beef is so tender and well marinated! Would definitely have this again if I were to come back!

We finished walking the whole place and finally ended our trip at the premium outlet after close to 5 hours of shopping! At the end of our shopping, everyone was happily filled with loots and grinning because of all the good deals we got. We waited at the same spot for the bus to Gora Station where we will be taking the Tozan Train back to Hakone-Yumoto Sation and then changing to the Odakyu Express Train back to Tokyo.

Hakone-Yumoto

Seafood Claypot Udon

As it was still early, we decided to check out the area and also find some food to fill up our stomach after using up all our energy shopping earlier. Randomly went into a restaurant and ordered some food as many of the shops are either closed or preparing to close as it was going to 6pm.

Romancecar

As we were all worn out from a whole day of traveling and shopping, we decided to top up for the Romance Limited Express where we can enjoy a comfy seat all the way back to Shinjuku station! We each topped up 890 yen and got allocated a seat each. Totally enjoyed the journey back as the seats are so comfy with huge leg space and the whole train cabin was so quiet (probably because everyone was soundly asleep too). I slept like a baby throughout the 1hr plus journey back and because the limited express stops at fewer stations, there is less disturbance of people boarding and alighting. Would totally recommend the Romancecar if you are traveling to Hakone!

After alighting at Shinjuku, we then took the subway back to the hotel. We checked in back to the same hotel we booked earlier before we left for Hakone. (Can check back on my earlier post if you're interested to know more about the hotel -> http://lifewithjacee.blogspot.sg/2014/07/tokyo-day-1-2.html)

As we were all tired, we just went to a nearby restaurant and grab some food before crashing in bed!

More updates on my remaining trip in Tokyo, so do stay tune! (:

Hakone Trip Day 1

We bought our train tickets to Hakone the previous day at Shinjuku train station. There's 2 types of services via the Odakyu Railway, one is by the "Romance Car" which is limited express that takes about 85 minutes from Shinjuku to Hakone costing about 2080 yen per person. The other type is the slower express train which costs 1190 yen per person but longer traveling time of approximate 2hrs and requires a transfer at Odawara Station. We got the Hakone Free Pass that includes a round trip to Hakone by Odakyu Train via the slower express train (you can top up for the limited express train if you want to save time) which also allows us to unlimited use of selected trains, cable cars, ropeways, boats and buses in the Hakone area. The tickets cost 5000 yen per person for 2 days and 5500 yen for 3 days, depending on how long your stay is in Hakone. There is also a timetable of each train so you can plan your time and journey.

Odakyu Train Station

We set off from Shinjuku and got off at Odakyu to explore around. The first stop is the Odawara Castle which is around 20 mins walk from the station and is very easy to find with all the signage along the way. The journey to the castle was nice and enjoyable as we immerse ourselves in the quiet and peacefulness of the small town while enjoying the nice scenery along the way.

Odawara Castle

The Odawara Castle is a three-tiered, four storey castle which dates back from 1416 but was rebuilt in 1960. You can buy tickets to go into the castle but we skipped that and just lingered around the outside and taking pictures of the nice scenery.

After which we then walked back to the station to get some food to fill up our stomach! There are many stores in the station selling titbits and souvenirs.

Tempura Udon

Tempura Soba

We found this little shop inside the train station and went in. They had hot and cold noodles and also rice to choose from. The food was quite alright and filling for our empty stomach. After which we then continued our journey to Gora Station.

The nice scenery along the train tracks

Gora Train Station

Gyoza-Centre

 We took a walk down from Gora train station to this gyoza centre which we found about online. It was a 20 mins walk from the station along the train tracks and we were accompanied by great scenery along the way. This place is famous for its gyozas which comes in many different interesting varieties.

Gyoza Menu

Crab meat Gyoza

Squid Gyoza

Crab meat, squid and gingko fillings gyozas

After the meal, we then head back to the station and waited for the cable car to other areas in Hakone.

Hakone Tozan Cable car

We took the cable car all the way to the last staion, Sounzan Station and changed to the Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani, a volcanic region.

 

"Owakudani is located on the northern slope of Mt Kamiyama, which is the highest peak of the Hakone Volcano. It is an explosion crater created by a large-scale phreatic explosion about 3000 years ago. The crater still discharges fumarolic gas containing poisonous hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide. The bedrock in the area is very fragile due to this fumarolic activity having caused numerous landslides in the past." - Extracted from one of the signboards around the area.

We also bought the famous black egg which has an legend of adding 7 years to one's life. These eggs are cooked in naturally hot water whereby the shells are blackened by the sulfur. It taste just like normal hard boiled eggs!

After exploring and buying some snacks and souvenirs in the area, we then continued the ropeway to our hotel. We got down at Togendai station and took the Hakone Tozan Bus that drops us right in front of our hotel. All these transports are inclusive in our Free Pass ticket which is highly advisable to purchase!

To know more about how the Hakone Tozan Bus works and also to download the map of the bus route, you can visit this website: www.hakone-tozanbus.co.jp/english/pdf/intro.pdf. This bus service is so convenient and brings you around the whole Hakone area.

Palace Hakone Hotel

View from the entrance of our hotel

Inside the room which was clean and spacious!

View from our room window

Details of the hotel:

Palace Hakone Hotel 

 1245, Sengokuhara, Hakone-machi
Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Pref, 250-0631
Phone: 81-460-84-8501 Facsimile: 81-460-84-8500
Check-In: 2:00 p.m. / Check-Out: 12:00 noon

After checking in and a short rest, we then took the bus back to Togendai station and hopped onto the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise which was also included in our free pass. The cruise will travel from Togendai port to Hakone-machi port, along the Lake Ashi where you can enjoy wonderful mountain-ringed scenery! The ride was around 30mins and you can either enjoy your view standing at the deck or seated within the cabins.

After getting off the cruise, almost all the shops were already closed (90% of the stores closes at 6pm in Hakone)! So we took the bus around to find for food and also getting lost along the way. Finally after close to 1hr of searching and getting help from a kind soul, we finally found a restaurant which was still open!!

Menu

Roasted Pork Meat

Sashimi

Beef mixed rice set

The restaurant had a large variety of food available and the menu is written in Japanese, English and Chinese, making it easy for tourist to order. The food was delicious and we cleaned all our sets out! Really loved the food and ambiance of the restaurant and would definitely come back here again if I were to visit Hakone!

Details of the restaurant:

Ginnoho 箱根・仙石原

817 Sengokuhara, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo District,

Kanagawa Prefecture 250-0631, Japan

Tel: +81 460-84-4158

Opening Hours: 11am - 3pm; 5.30pm - 9pm

Closed on Wednesday

URL: www.hakone-hoshino.jp

After filling our stomach and having a good rest at the restaurant, we then make our way back to the hotel via the Hakone Tozan Bus service which was about 15 mins walk from the restaurant. We then finally end off the day with a good outdoor onsen and hot soju in the hotel!

Will continue to update the rest of my trip in the next few posts! Do stay tune! Xoxo (: