Tokyo 2017 Day 3: Hakone

DAY 3: 13 JUN 2017

Our 3rd day in Japan!

It's time for a short trip out to Hakone.

My mum booked a 2 day 1 night package with Odakyu Travel which costs around S$280 per pax,

The package included 1 night's stay at Mizu no To, Romancecar return trip and

2 day Hakone Pass!

Expensive, but it was an experience which I can never forget.

We checked out early and left our luggages at the ryokan as we will be staying

with them again when we return.

As our romancecar departs from Shibuya at around 9.30am, we decided to grab

some breakfast nearby.

We tried our luck at Omoide Yokocho, which is a narrow food street usually buzzling

with life at night.

As expected, most of the stalls were closed but we chanced upon this small udon stall

which could accommodate 8 patrons only.

We were hesitant at first but we decided to heck it and waited for a seat.

Seats were available pretty fast as the patrons were the local working crowd.

I can only read hiragana but reading does not equate to understanding.

There was a menu stuck on the the wall and we decided to order "no. 1" for 450 yen.

I had no idea what that was.

Udon with Tempura

He probably encountered tons of clueless tourist like me who rely on random hand signs.

In the end, "no. 1" was udon with vegetable tempura.

The tempura was so crispy and light and it didn't feel as oily as the ones I ate in Singapore.

The udon was springy.

The broth was hot and flavourful, great for a rainy weather.

Even though I was the first to get my food, being a slow eater, I was the last to leave.

It was quite stressful as everyone who came after me left while I was still eating.

Darn.

But nevertheless, it was such a good sumptuous meal for someone who doesn't have the 

habit of having breakfast!

We took the romancecar, which is essentially an express train to Hakone.

The train took us to Hakone-Yumoto station.

From there, we took the Hakone Tozan Railway to Gora station for lunch.

My mum and brother chanced upon a tofu restaurant during their previous visit.

Upon exiting Gora station, make a left to cross the road, turn left and then make
a right into another street.

You will pass one or two restaurants before you see the restaurant named

Tamura Ginkatsutei.

Pathway leading to the tofu restaurant

The restaurant was very crowded as we arrived during lunchtime.

We got our queue number through a machine and waited for 30 minutes.

I got bored...

So, I googled how to read our queue number in Japanese.

When our number got called, I understood!

We ordered the tofu set and specials which were their signature dishes.

The serving was huge and filling even though it's a tofu dish.

After lunch, we headed back to Gora station to take the Hakone Tozan railway to Sounzan station.

From there, we took the ropeway (cable car) up to Owakudani.

 Owakudani is an active volcanic zone and sulphuric fumes are constantly emitted.

Before entering the cable car, a staff handed us disposable wet towel just in case

we could not stand breathing in the volcanic gases.

However, as it was raining most of the time, the surroundings were covered in fog.

As expected, unfortunately, we didn't get to see the volcanic area when we reached

the station.

The visibility was very poor, but I could smell the sulphur immediately.

We hung around the tourist gift shop before making our way to our ryokan, Mizu no To.

We took the cable car back to Sounzan station and then the railway to Kowakudani station.

At Kowakudani station, a free hotel shuttle was available and we arrived at our

ryokan within 5 minutes.

We were brought to the lobby and while waiting to check in,

we helped ourselves to the free drinks and snacks corner.

When it was finally our turn, the staff went through the various facilities available with us.

A map was given to us to navigate around the entire compound as well as

where to find the free snacks at different hours:

Meiji milk, popsicles, mochi & ramen (late-night)

SO AWESOME!!

Our room was huge!

A mini kitchen, two beds and a tatami area (my bed that night).

I was seriously sad to leave the next day because it was so relaxing to be in the room.

We changed into the ryokan outfits including their sandals.

They were actually really comfortable and it didn't feel awkward as everyone else

were dressed in it too.

My mum went for the onsen while my brother and I went on a mission to find

the free milk and ice cream!

At 8pm, we headed to the restaurant to have our dinner.

The package we bought included breakfast and dinner which was totally value for money.

.

We were given two dinner options at check in: BBQ or hotpot.

The both of them tried the BBQ one already so we settled for hotpot.

It was actually somewhat like a 10 course meal and we took 1.5 hours to finish the course.

These were some of the dishes we had that night.

I was utterly amazed by the number of tableware used for the entire dinner menu.

Every single bowl or plate used seemed as though they were designed for the plating of the food 

which made the food stand out even more.

This dinner could easily cost at least S$100 in Singapore.

It was definitely one of the best meal I had in Japan!

We went back to our room and I was like a lost sheep without a bed, 

because my idiotic, ungentlemanly brother insisted on sleeping on the bed.

Poor me had to sleep on the Japanese futon mattress.

Nevertheless, everything was found in the cupboard.

I just laid out the futon mattress, blanket and pillows and then, I had a bed to myself.

Something new and it was actually very comfortable.

I slept through the night amidst my brother's awfully loud snores (:

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Click here for our Day 4 adventures,

or retrace our steps here for our Day 1 & 2 adventures (:

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