Japan Day 5 - 7 Feb 2016

It was a late wake up morning and MacDonald's was breakfast. I had the Mega McMuffin with nuggets and tea.  Definitely a very FILLING breakfast!!

After the late breakfast, it was back to the apartment to pick up my presents for my colleague, Tomo.  Then it was off to meet Tomo.  Today, Tomo brought me to Rihga Royal Hotel near Waseda University for lunch.  And it was my very anticipated Fugu set meal!  The meal came with complimentary champagne as well!  Nice touch!

Menu that was hand signed by the Chef!!

The first course was a mixture of winter and spring seasonal food.  Second course was fugu sashimi with Ponzu sauce and fugu skin broiled with sesame sauce.  Fugu is a very poisonous fish and will kill the consumer almost instantly.  However, when prepared carefully, it's a delicacy that works wonders to your palate.  The texture was smooth and slightly crunchy with very mild hint of sweetness.  The skin was very crunchy and surprisingly tasty, tastier than the meat itself!

The third course was fugu tempura.  I was surprised the meat was firm yet flaky after cooked.  It was just divine!  Fourth course was a hotpot of fugu, but the meat tasted almost like normal boiled fish meat.  The fifth course was rice in fugu soup, with bits of fugu skin.  An egg was also thrown in for extra sweetness.  It was so light and flavorful!

Champagne

Appetiser

FUGU Sashimi

FUGI skin

FUGU Tempura

FUGU broth

Pickles

FUGU Porridge

The meal ended with a mango mousse cake and clear Japanese green tea.  The food was great, but Tomo's company made this even better!  No longer colleagues now, we chatted like old friends.  It was great fun before returning back to Shinjuku station where we bade each other farewell.

Me and Tomo

A quick stop at the apartment before heading out for YuYi sento at Nishi Shinjukugochrome station.  It was very crowded with 2 hot pools and one cold pool, plus an 'outdoor' pool that felt almost indoor.  And a sauna room that required additional payment.  No towels provided for the JPY 460 entry, and you had to pay to use the hair dryer!  

Yuyi Sento, not very nice though

Quite a turn off experience that I stayed for a quick 30 minutes before heading to my favorite Shimizuyu onsen where they had real spring water that was available in 3 different hot pool ( black, seawater brown and grey) plus a cold pool and hot sauna.  All for JPY 460 and the hair dryer was free!  And your skin really felt smooth after soaking for just 10 minutes!!

After onsen, it was dinner at the nearby shopping arcade (just 5 minutes walk from Shimizuyu onsen and a stone trhow away from the train station) where beef was the main course.

Caesar Salad with hotspring egg

Fruits to finish off

Japan Day 4 - 6 Feb 2016

Woke up early today for the last hotspring soak in the mountains before another great breakfast spread in the room.  Today's dishes were better than day one as well, with piping hot udon soup, grilled fish and several small Japanese sides.  You do feel like a King with everything spread out for you and you only need to tuck into the delish in the most comfortable wear!

After breakfast, it was checking out and a very short stroll to Fudo Falls for some serenity moments. This was a famous falls in Yugawara, but it fell short of expectations as it looked more like a trail of falling water instead. 

No much time was spent at the falls, and soon it was heading back to the hotel to pick up the luggages.  And just in time, the bus towards Yugawara station came as the luggages were being pushed out!  A few stops later and arrived at Odawara station, followed by a brief stop to Hakone Yumoto station for the Romance Car back to Shinjuku.  At Odawara station, lunch was purchased for on board dining with a view (it was also noted that the onboard meal purchases were nothing fantastic).

@Yugawara station

My grilled fish lunch onboard

By the time the train reached Shinjuku, it was around 2pm.  As it was still too early for check in, the luggages were put in the apartment first while exploration of Shinjuku began!

First up, to visit the over 100 years old Isetan building!  Well, nothing to shout out really.  It's just a shopping mall selling high end items which I had no interests in.  Next stops were more interesting, visiting MUJI and Uniqlo stores.  No purchases made today, just making down a list of items to buy first.  

With the 100 years old signage at Isetan

Tonight's accommodation was a small studio apartment booked via AirBnB, just 5 minutes walk from Shinjuku station, and 3 minutes to Takashimaya!  Very small and sparse, but new and clean.  

Upon 'throwing' the luggages in the apartment, it was a stroll around Shinjuku, exploring all the nooks.  A very early dinner was taken at my favorite ramen joint: Ichiran Ramen.  Nice to have a relatively short 30 minute queue instead of the 1.5 hours queue 6 months' ago.  The standard was still there and oh how I'd missed the taste!  It was oh so rich and creamy soup of tangy ramen!  This time round I had all the extras: extra richness, spicy and sides!

back again at Ichiran!!

After dinner, it was another round of exploring Shinjuku on foot before turning in for the night.  Nut not before getting some supper from nearby 7-11.  They really have everything at 7-11!  All heated up and ready to chomp down!!

very small studio apartment

tiny bath tub

equally small kitchenette

Japan Day 3 - 5 Feb 2016

Woke up at 7am and rushed for the hotspring for my morning wash up!  It was so nice waking up feeling cold but moments later enjoying the heat surrounded by nature and the rays of the morning sun!  Walking stark naked outdoors with the road just below was interesting, and soaking in the outdoor pool made all my tiredness melt away.

When I returned back to the room, breakfast was again spread over the table.  Much simpler than dinner, it was still great with the main attraction the grilled fish.  There was a hotspot of miso clam soup and side salad with ham.  Grated Japanese yam, yam balls, fish cakes, wasabi paste, sour plum, pickles and chawamushi completed the meal with steaming rice! 

After breakfast, it was full gears all ready to tackle the Hakone region.  The Hakone Tozan bus stop was just a few steps from the hotel, which made life really easy!  It was a winding road all the way to Hakone, and the view changed from bare branches and landscape into that of a snowy wonderland!  And all of a sudden, Mt Fuji came into full view with clear blue skies and snow capped all dressed and ready to please everyone!  The bus driver was kind enough to stop for a short while for us to take pictures of Japan's most famous icon.  This was wish number 1 completed (to see Mt Fuji in clear blue sky)!!

The Tozan bus stopped at Hakone bus interchange and it was a short transfer via bus 1 to nearby Cedar Avenue.  It was 2 rows of giant cedar trees planted over 400 years that provided the small path with cooling shade.  The smell of fresh air was evident, and even though the ground was slippery with ice and snow, it was still a pleasant walk with the sound of nature serenading all senses.

Bus interchange

towering cedar trees

Just at the end of Cedar Avenue was the famous Lake Ashinoko (aka Lake Ashi for short).  This is a well photographed lake due to its stunning picturesque view of the Mt Fuji backdrop and the Hakone (Red) Gate in sight.  It was a leisurely stroll along Ashi lake before arriving at the pier to board the pirate ship for a cruise on Ashi lake.

Lake Ashi, Mt Fuji and Haknoe Gate - My 3-in-1 great photo!!

As part of the Hakone Pass, the Pirate Ship was included.  It was a nice 40 minutes cruise in Lake Ashi, allowing the sights of the surrounding rolling hills and mountains.  The water was clear and still, and the winter wind was gently toasted warm by the mid-day sun. 

The ship docked at Togendai-ko station where it was a scenic cable car ride up to Ubako station.  Along the cable ride, Mt Fuji can be seen again (partially).  The landscape was that of winter bare, but hot steam could be seen gushing out from the sides of nearby volcanic mountains.  It was a beautiful sight, but was also a downside as well.

Due to the on going volcanic activities, part of the cable car ride was suspended and a substitute shuttle bus was in place to deliver passenger to Sounzan station for the cable way ride to Gora station.  The bus ride was a rather letdown as I experienced motion sickness due to the winding road and stuffy cabin.  So it was a pleasant relieve when it stopped at Sounzan station for the cable way ride.  There, the station was perched by the slope, affording a view of the mountain range.


The cable way ride was a ride that transverse along a slope with some elevation that allowed some views  From Gora, it was a 40 minutes slow train ride to Hakone-Yumoto station, a popular city centre stop of Hakone.

Hakone Yumoto is a small town with two rows of shops alongside its 2 way street.  This is a very popular spot for most tourist though, as it has several onsen hotels within nearby vicinity.  However, it seemed too commercial with loads of tourists and souvenir shops.

I had a simple tempura soba for lunch before exploring the many small shops along the street. The fried prawn that came was so huge it was longer than the width of my face!  The broth was that of the Japanese soy with hint of saltiness and rather flavourful.  Seems its tough to get it wrong when it comes to Japanese food (unless it was truly terrible)!

 Around 4.30pm, it was time to head back to Ootaki Hotel for some hotspring soaking before another round of fabulous in room dining.

Today's dinner was so much better than the day before, with lobster and snow crabs as the main highlight!  I shall let the photos do the taking this time.

After dinner, instead of sleeping, I went up to the hotel onsen again for a night soak.  This would also allow the hotel staff to make the beddings.  Night soaking was fun and you could even see the stars in the inky skies while enjoying the hot spring waters!  What a nice cold and hot contrast!  

After the soak, it was back to bed again for the night's rest.