Sunday, May 4, 2014

Hakone

At first, we didn't have any plan for Golden Week holidays (a large consecutive holiday in May containing public holidays). When everyone is off, usually most places are packed and expensive. However, my mom happened to give us an accommodation coupon for one night at Hotel Harvest Hakone Koshien (ホテルハーヴェスト 箱根甲子園). So, we decided to go to Hakone =) yay!!!

Day 1:

We took Romancecar to Hakone Yumoto (箱根湯本) from Seijyogakuenmae (成城学園前), which is 2 stops away from our closest station. There is only one departure time (10:40) in the morning from Seijyogakuenmae but we thought that is more convenient than taking a train from Shinjyuku station.

It takes about 40min to Gora (強羅) from Hakone Yumoto by Hakone Tozan Railway (箱根登山鉄道). Worth to wait the next train if you think you cannot get a seat... we jumped on the train and it was a pain in the neck standing long...

We had lunch at Yamaji (山路) in Gora. The restaurant is famous for their Oyakodon, Katsudon, and Soba noodles =) I had Tororo Soba.

It was bit cold and raining in the afternoon, so we decided not to go far and headed to the hotel. Believe it or not, we had a nap for 2 hours. LOL

Before dinner, we enjoyed Ashiyu (足湯), foot bath! We decided to have a dinner at the hotel because there was nothing around the hotel. All-you-can-eat buffet was surprisingly good. We thought we wanna visit here again. hehe

After dinner, we enjoyed the hot spring.

Day 2:

Of course in the morning, we enjoyed the hot spring. The hotel breakfast was great, too!!!

Then we headed to Gotemba Premium Outlets! What a splendid day! The weather was really nice and perfect for shopping XD

Our return train was at 17:04 from Hakone Yumoto (again because the train that makes stop at Seijogakuenmae is limited), so we decided to leave the outlet at 2PM. Obviously, 3 hours was not enough for me to shop, so we missed our lunch…

On the way back from Gora, we waited for the next train to get a front seat =) I strongly recommend you to get a seat, otherwise, it is very boring and tiring. lol

We bought Bento and Kamaboko (fish cake is very popular in Hakone) for our dinner on the train. We didn't go many places this time, because we didn't get Hakone Freepass: allows you to get on and off freely within a specified area, as well as providing discount admission to various attractions in the area, and also includes return transportation on the Odakyu Line... but maybe next time!!!

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