You can purchase a ticket for the lowest possible price at your boarding station and pay the difference at a fare adjustment machine at the destination station. Pretty convenient cos we were rushing for the train and didn't have much time to ponder over the fare chart.
Shinjuku station packed with people in the morning.
We woke up early (yawn!), bought breakfast (sandwich, ¥200) and Odakyu Hakone Free Pass from Shinjuku station - Adult: ¥5000, valid for 2 days and includes one round trip from Tokyo area to Hakone by Odakyu Railways, unlimited use of Odakyu affiliated buses, trains, boats, cable cars and ropeways within the Hakone free area and discounted admission to selected tourist attractions.
Journey: Shinjuku Station --- 1.5hrs by Odakyu express train ---> Odawara --- 15min by Hakone-Tozan Line mountain railway ---> Hakone Yumoto Station
Sceneries along the way towards Hakone
Located just above the Odakyu Hakone Yumoto Station, our hotel Kappa Tengoku is only 5 min walk from the station. We gotta climbed a steep flight of stairs with all our luggage, so tiring! Left our barang at the hotel and proceeded to find lunch nearby...
You can sample grilled fish outside the seafood store before you make any purchase decision. We sampled the fish and found them 'unique' in taste.
We were lucky enough to find ourselves at a popular yuba (tofu skin) soba restaurant called Isamiya (a famous 50-year-old shop) for a delicious meal. Quote from Japan Hour program 'The soba, which is made using Hakone's water, tastes smooth and refreshing. It is served with bonito stock and topped with thickened kudzu soup. The combination of yuba and soba is perfectly matched in this tasty yet healthy dish' Price: ¥980
We boarded the bus bound for Hakonemachi / Hakonemachi (just flash your ticket at the driver) and arrived at Moto-Hakone. Journey: 50mins
The lake right before your eyes is Lake Ashi, which was formed in the caldera of Mount Hakone after the volcano's last eruption 3000 years ago. In the far distance, you can see Hakone Gongen Shrine, the shrine building with its red torii gate standing close to the shore which was built in 1667 and within 15mins walk from Moto-Hakone.
Views of the lake's surroundings. Nice and lovely! A pity about the gloomy weather though, where's the bright and sunny sun??!!??
We strolled along the Ancient Cedar Avenue, a short, cedar lined passage of the old Tokaido. About 420 cedar trees form an avenue about 500 m long where these trees were planted 400 years ago to create shade for travelers. Journey: 10mins
Hakone Checkpoint is a reconstruction of its original form and include gates, fence, housing for officers and foot soldiers, a prison chamber and a lookout tower. Admission: ¥400. We didn't pay for the admission and were pretty happy to just view the place from the outside, hahaha
It's tea time! We had an ice cream cone each (vanilla and green tea favour, ¥150 each) , sat outside the store and faced the lake to immerse ourselves in the awesome lake/mountain scenery while enjoying the cold breeze and delicious ice cream cone. Nice!
We spotted a beautiful cottage with trees in lovely autumn leaves. I wish this is my holiday house!
We took a 40min sightseeing cruise on board the Hakone Sightseeing Ship, which is like Disneyland version of pirate ships, sailing across the lake from Hakone-machi to Moto-Hakone to Togendai.
The Hakone Ropeway provides an extraordinary aerial experience at an elevation of 700 meters and passes through Owakudani, 1,000 meters above sea level (see below).
Owakudani (Valley of Greater Boiling) is the remains of the ancient crater of Mt. Kamiyama made by an eruption that occurred 3000 years ago. Vapor and carbon dioxide gas spews out from everywhere and there is a sulfurous odor in the air. As the weather isn't ideal and it's kinda late, we cannot explore the area nor buy "Black jewel" eggs cooked in the area's thermal heat sources (these eggs are a Hakone specialty and according to legend, eating one is said to add seven years to your life) *whine
Hakone Tozan Cable Car links Gora Station to Sounzan Station, a distance of 1.2 kilometers, in 10 mins and travels up a steep slope; the station platform at the top is sloping as well.
Most of the restaurants in town are closed when we returned (about 6.30pm) and we had dinner at the only available restaurant. Chicken don set for ¥1050
Japanese style room at ¥6650 (SGD103), shared bathroom. Yesh, pretty expensive for such a basic room, but this is the cheapest place we found for Hakone... Oh well, tourist place tourist price, hahaha
Friday, August 6, 2010
Day 5: Hakone
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Day 4: Ueno Shinjuku
Our last day in Tokyo! We had breakfast at the bakery at Ueno Station. Delicious pastries! ~¥1500 (SGD10)
Top: Farmers' produce fair. Bottom: In cherry blossom season, Ueno Park is Tokyo's most popular spot for outdoor hanami parties as there are more than 1,000 trees along the street leading towards the National Museum and around Shinobazu Pond. The sight of cherry blossom trees along the street will be really beautiful (use your imagination here since I went in Autumn and not in Spring, hahaha)
Toshogu Shrine, built in the 17th century, is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo Shogunate. Myojin Torii (shrine gate) made of stone stands at the entrance while 200 stone lanterns and 50 bronze lanterns line both sides of the approach that leads to it. Templei is closed for renovation until 2014 and we cannot enter the premise, such a pity.
Eternal Flame of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with thousand origami cranes (a symbol of world peace). This is a flame lit from flames burning in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and is an appeal to stop nuclear warfare.
Five-story pagoda, located inside Ueno Zoological Garden, was once part of the Kaneiji Temple, built by the Tokugawa Shogunate to protect the Edo Castle against evil spirits. I wasn't able to get very close to it and had to take the photo from Toshogu Shrine.
We saw an artist painting an autumn scene in Ueno Park. His painting is as good as the photo taken, wow... Photo vs Painting; both are beautiful!
We did a leisurely stroll through the folksy streets of Tokyo around 'YA-NE-SEN', the word comes from the first letters of each neighborhood; Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi. The area escaped damage from the bombing in World War II, so a sense of early 20th century culture still lingers there. The area is also characterized by many uniquely named hills and narrow alleyways.
International Library of Children's Literature - a unique blend of architectures from three different eras, the original 1906 Renaissance-style architecture - expanded on in 1929 - not only beautifully preserved, but expertly unified into a spacious, inspiring modern whole.
Walk right to the end of the street and you can find Tsunayoshi Tokugawa's mausoleum and its gate decorated with the plaque written by the Emperor of the time (important cultural asset of the nation).
Next turn left after the Children's Library will take you to the Main Hall of the Kaneiji Temple. Here, you can see large bibbed jizo bodhisattva statues in the grounds and ...
... a memorial to the soul of dead insects. Its purpose was to console the spirits of the flies, cricket, grasshoppers and insects that had been sacrificed for science. *insert unbelievable look
Turn right out of the main gate of Kaneiji Temple and walk to the T-junction. Just across the road is Jomyoin Temple which boasts over 84,000 jizo, i.e. statues of the bodhisattva guardian of children, arrange in neat rows.
Old Yoshida Sake Store - a sake store during the Edo period, with long eaves and wide entrance. The first floor has the counter and the office, while the second floor was an employee’s room.
We spotted wood house here and there, small shops and small beautiful shrines with garden in this quiet and peaceful residential area. Very quaint, nice!
We walked for another 20mins to Nezu Shrine - a small shrine notable for surviving three centuries of fires, earthquakes and war with its buildings dated from 1705, is one of the oldest original constructions remaining in Tokyo. The Main Hall was designed in red lacquer called 'Gongenzukuri' and the Gate is clearly influenced by Buddhist style.
Otome Inari lays just beside Nezu Jinja. Like most shrines dedicated to Inari, the goddess of rice, it is doted with red torii gates and fox ('kitsune') statues.
Last stop: Shinjuku is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the busiest train station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration center for the government of Tokyo. The whole place is just enormous!! After lunch and some shopping , we went up to the North observatory (just follow the long travelator to the building) for a spectacular, breathtaking, panoramic view of metropolitan Tokyo in the evening.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings has an observatory on the 45th floor (202-m high). Admission : Free. Open: 9:30-23:00 (North observatory), 9:30-17:30 (South observatory). PS: See the black mass in the second photo? That area is Meiji Jingu Shrine.
We chanced upon a cleaning device that uses ultrasound to clean Andrew's spectacles... for free! Place your spectacles into the tin which is filled with water, push the button, bubbles start to appear and the cleaning process is completed within 3min. According to Andrew, his glasses become much cleaner, hahaha...
Dinner at one of the restuarants on the top floor of one of the shopping complex (oops, we went to so many shopping malls that I cannot remember their names). I ordered the seasonal autumn set meal (~¥1300) which is really good! You get to taste 3 different type of soba with different sauces, nice.
Boarded a packed train back home. The office folks love to dress in black! See for yourself, haha
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Day 3: Asakusa Harajuku
We had breakfast at Yoshinoya, ¥500 for a set of beef bowl, salad and miso soup.
Kaminarimon Gate with its huge paper lantern painted in dramatic red and black to suggest thunderclouds and lightning and the wooden images of the Thunder and Wind Gods by its sides is the main gate to Sensoji Temple. Just look at how crowded the place is at 11am!! You should be here earlier if you want to beat the crowd or to spend more time browsing at the shops along the arcade.
The 9-m-wide, 140-m-long Nakamise-dori Arcade is a paved promenade extending from Kaminarimon Gate to Sensoji Temple. The promenade forms a colorful avenue of small shops and stalls selling everything from kimono and Japanese folding fan to traditional candy. It's pretty fun to browse through the many small shops or munch on the many small snacks... Very festive feel here.
Over here, we tried Ningyoyaki - a small cake with red bean paste filling which is really delicious! They come in different cute animal shapes and you can watch all the baking action right at the store. A bag of 10 cakes for ¥200.
Zillions of cute, lovely Japanese souvenirs such as folding fans, masks, plates, key chains, swords, etc and delicious local snacks for you to buy here to bring home; you will be spoilt for choice!
Sensoji Temple (aka Asakusa Kannon Temple) is said to have been founded in the 7th century by three fishermen who discovered in their nets one day a tiny image of Kannon only 5 cm in height. Open daily: 6:30–17:00. Note: Sensoji's main hall is currently under renovation and covered by scaffolding. The works are scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2010.
Top: Centre place in the temple forecourt is an incense burner. Here you will usually see a group of visitors fanning smoke from the burning incense over themselves. The incense is believed to have healing powers, and so fanning the smoke over your ailment will help to heal it. If you suffer from headache, fan some of the smoke over your head.
Bottom: 100 yen will buy you an omikuji (fortune written on a small piece of paper). You place the money in an honour box and shake a small cylinder containing sticks with numbers written on them. Shake the cylinder until one of the sticks falls out and pull your fortune from a drawer with the corresponding number. If your fortune is bad, tie the paper onto a nearby string so that the wind can disperse the bad luck.
The main temple hall houses the golden statue of Kannon, a diminutive 6cm tall, and is viewable by the public. Step forward to cast some coins in the offer box, which sits in front of the alter, take a step back, place your hands together, pray and then bow. This is the standard practice of praying at a Buddhist temple.
We were really lucky as the weekend was Shichi-Go-San (七五三), a traditional rite of passage and festival day in Japan for three and seven year-old girls and three and five year-old boys. Girls are dressed in kimono (many for the first time) for visits to shrines. Western-style formal wear is also worn by some children. Really handsome boy and pretty girl in the photo right??
We did a walking tour around Asakusa area to catch glimpse of the unique life-style of the common folk of Tokyo’s 'downtown' area where the 'old Edo' still exists and things are steeped in tradition...
A theatrical troupe handing out pamphlets to passersby
Clever advertisement by a ramen store - A pair of chopsticks with ramen suspended in the air and above the bowl
Typical 日本酒屋
Cosplayers
Kappabashi Dougugai-dori, a unique one-kilometer stretch of wholesaler street, selling all sorts of equipment and utensils for restaurant and home kitchens. Here, you can buy life-like plastic food displays as souvenirs.
Beautiful autumn leaves at the entrance to Meiji Jingu Shrine
Up next: Meiji Jingu Shrine is a great contrast to the hustle and noise of Tokyo with the forest of 120,000 evergreen trees blocking out the noise of the city. The forest of 365 different species of trees covers an impressive 700,000 square-meters (about 175 acres). The sanctuary is a particularly fine example of Shinto architecture. Open daily from dawn to sunset; Admission: Free.
After passing under the wooden torii (sacred arch), which is the highest of this type in Japan, you will walk on a long gravel approach to the shrine. According to legend, the tamajari (pea gravel) rubbing against the soles of your feet will have purified you of all evils of the body and soul by the time you reach the main shrine.
We chanced upon a traditional Japanese Shinto wedding party parading through the inner ground of the shrine. It is an amazing sight to see the bride in her traditional Japanese wedding kimono (Uchikake), shrine maidens, Shinto priests and the wedding party with the women wearing gorgeous kimono.
Takeshita Dori is the famous Harajuku shopping street that begins just outside of the 'Takeshita Exit' of Harajuku Station on the JR Yamanote Line. The most well known (and crowded) part of Takeshita is the segment that runs between Harajuku Station and Meiji Dori. Just look at the sea of people down the street!!
We had a really late lunch at MacDonald (PS: try and spot the MacDonald in the previous photo) as we figured that it's impossible to squeeze through the crowd and look for decent food. Two set meals cost us ¥1300 (SGD 20). Yesh, even MacDonald is expensive!!
Many of the shops target Japanese teen girls and are famous for offering fashion catering some of Japan more interesting subcultures, including lolita, punk, gothic, and hip hop. There are also numerous crepe shops, restaurants and a few international brand shops.
Last stop: Shibuya is famous for its scramble crossing. It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachikō exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. Three large TV screens mounted on nearby buildings overlook the crossing. The Starbucks store overlooking the crossing is also one of the busiest in the world.
Hachiko, an Akita dog, was a Shibuya fixture during the late 1920s and early 1930s; his statue near Shibuya Station is a popular meeting spot.
We decided to be adventurous and checked out Dogenzaka, a street sometimes known as ‘Love Hotel Hill’ for the many tiny inns that accommodate couples in search of privacy. The facades of these love hotels are pretty unique and their entrance is really secluded.
We had a hard time peeping in to see how the hotel operates: Guests usually choose a room on a board by pressing a button (available rooms are lighted) and then pay at a little window where the receptionist behind cannot be seen.
We had yummy udon and soba for dinner. Cost: ¥1760 (SGD 27)