Japan - Hakone to Tokyo, Ginza

Day 10 - 21 January 2019

Bath & Onsen in the morning

We woke up earlier to visit the public onsen which includes 1 indoor and 1 outdoor. This is really the very basic compared to the few we experienced in Hokkaido last time. In the early hours, I had the luxury of having the entire place to myself.

This would save me from showering in the cold in our private "bathroom". Having a hot shower in the morning is really so comforting. After that, continue to soak in the heat and goodness of the mineral sitting in the onsen. When the body is warmed up, it feels nice when the cool air hits the skin as I stood up in the outdoor. There were leaves that dropped from the trees and a net was provided to clear them off.

I actually prefer the public dressing area better than the room's toilet area. It is brighter and more spacious. 

Breakfast in the house

Traditional Japanese breakfast is served at 8am. Compared to dinner, I much preferred the breakfast. The soup is very delicious and goes well with steamed rice. And that tofu side dish is so amazing once again. The smooth velvety texture is really something you cannot find just anywhere.

Not long after our breakfast, it was check out time at 10am. 

We left our luggage with them for a while and roamed around the area. There is really nothing much around there and I think the only way about is by the bus. There is a Hakone Glass Forest Museum opposite if you are keen, but it was not opened when we were there.

The whole experience here is not something I would come for again, especially just for a day. Feels like we are traveling to Hakone but cannot do much since we were checking out the next day. The ryokan is okay, but not impressive. 

Hakone Yumoto Station 

There are quite a number of nice shops near the station. We stopped by a Rusk snack store and got addicted to their samples. The sample size is really generous. I also tried the honey cheese tart, which is surprisingly light and yummy.

We spotted a restaurant that sells Cha Soba, but unfortunately, the taste was disappointing.

RomanceCar to Shinjuku 

We bought our tickets for RomanceCar to head to Shinjuku. The name is so cute right, but the space for our luggage is even more limited than the shinkansen.

Shinjuku is so big and we were a bit lost at first. We were looking for the meeting place for our disneyland trip the next day. We bought our tickets with Klook and had went with the transfer option as the collection at Haneda Airport option was not available. 

Hotel Musse Ginza Meitetsu 

Our hotel is considerably near the metro station. The lobby is very modern and nice, and we were located near a 7/11. For the room wise, we were quite impressed with the interior design. While it is a relatively small room, it feels high class. It was the first time I ever saw a sink displayed outside of the toilet area!

The shower is also really awesome. There is a bathtube and a traditional sit down shower.

Dinner at Tempura Donburi Restaurant 

This outlet is the Ginza version of Tendon Itsuki at Tanjong Pagar. It was quite a walking distance from our hotel. 

The dinner is indeed delicious. Compared to SG's version, there is crab and eel tempura too. However, I somehow prefer the one in SG as it feels less overwhelming and 腻. Similarly, the rice bowl comes with miso soup and chwanmushi as a set.
 

I ordered a ginger beer that goes really well with the fried food. However, it also made me very bloated after the dinner.

Japan - Hakone; Shinanoki Ichinoyu

Day 9 - 20 January 2019

Breakfast at Yayoiken

So we found our most favorite breakfast place back during our first trip to Tokyo. Walking in the rain under our Hotel 88 umbrella, we reached the restaurant after around 15 minutes. Thankfully, there was no queue and we did not have to wait outside.
 

I ordered the same thing I remembered eating, the ginger pork soup with rice and fried fish. In that cold weather, it is most comforting to have such hot soup to warm the stomach. The quality and taste is still pretty much as awesome. The husband ordered a katsu don with egg which is delicious as well. Their fried potato is also hot and crispy. Everything was served relatively quickly, and so we were quite on time.

Taking the bullet train to Odawara Station

The lovely staff of Hotel 88 Shinsaibashi was really nice and guided us to where we could take the lift down to the station. Otherwise, we had to lug our luggage down the stairs in the rain. Thankfully, the rain became a drizzle by the time we left the hotel. 

At Shin-Osaka station, we bought our shinkansen ticket at the ticketing machine. We bought the Hikari train which is slightly slower, because if we got Nozomi, we still have to do a transfer to another train. I really wonder what happens if people actually miss their stop and stuff since we can only take that one particular train reflected on the ticket. Then would they get stuck at another station and require to buy another ticket?

Our train ride was around 2.5 hours. We had a mini food tasting session of all the doraemon-look-alike corn snack! It is crazy how the flavored snack taste so similar to the actual thing. Think of takoyaki in a snack form. The winner flavour is still the corn potage.

From Odawara station, head to the Hakone Tozan line and take 4 stops down to Hakone Yumoto station. Here, you take the T bus at the left of exit. The website of the hotel includes a video guide so you know exactly where to go.

You can either tap your pasmo card, or take a ticket at the start. It will indicate the station you board at, with ours being 0. Later on the screen, it will indicate the amount you have to pay if you alight at that station. Once again, you either tap your pasmo to deduct the money or pay that amount to the bus captain (actually put in the machine) when you alight the bus. Our stop is at "Shinanoki Hakone Highland Hotel". Taking the bus on the winding route made me so dizzy and pukey.

Shinanoki Ichinoyu - A traditional Ryokan

We reached around 4pm and checked in swiftly. There is no lift, and so we had to carry our luggage up the steps. Upon entering the room, we did experience what online reviewers have feedback; the toilet does have a strong urine smell. Thankfully, it is located at a separately corner. However, I really did not like the darkness in the toilet.

The entire room looks smaller than expected, and we already chose the bigger version. One interesting thing is definitely the heated table. There is a hole below the table so you can stretch your legs out and enjoy the heat in the cold weather. 

Another special feature about the room is the private onsen we have to ourself! It is definitely crazy because we had to shower in the cold before getting into the hot nice water. The  husband liked that experience, but I was jumping like mad. Could not really shower in peace because damn cold! Sitting in the onsen together is nice though but not as romantic as I envisioned. The extreme temperature kills off any mood lol.

Shabu Shabu Dinner at their restaurant

Dinner will be served at 6pm. Unfortunately, if you check in later than 7pm, they won't be able to serve your dinner. 

Ours was a top-up Kobe beef set. The taste of the food are generally quite delicious, but I find it not satisfying enough. I think more pork/meat might be better. The steam bowl is really yummy though, and lastly, the QQ udon is really delicious in the soup.

One thing very special here is their tofu. I cannot even describe how it feels like in the mouth. It is extremely smooth, like custard pudding texture, and has a strong soybean taste. For dessert, pear sherbet was served. Such a pleasant and unique flavour.

After a relaxing dinner in our yukata, we ended the night with some television and green tea at our heated table.