On Day 3, we checked out from our hotel and headed for our second destination to see Mount Fuji! With all the luggage we have, we carried around and took a local express train to Hakone which was covered by the JR East pass (Shinkansen does not travel to Hakone). The train stopped at Odawara station (which is a good spot to stay, given the choices of food and shops available around the area) and we had to take Hakone tozan bus number 4 (bound for Tougendai) and got off at Shinanoki Hakone Highland hotel (the whole trip took about 40 minutes). The bus ride was rather inconvenient as we blocked the passage way with our luggage and some commuters had difficulties getting through the aisle to move to the back of the bus.
Our hotel was located opposite the Hakone Highland hotel. We stayed in Shinanoki Ichinoyu - room was nice, we were given the first and second level and Brian's family took level 2 while we settled for the first floor. At least this Japanese style inn has a private bathroom attached to our bedroom. Hotel is within walking distance to the Venetian Glass Museum. Apart from this, I personally feel that the location is not convenient as there were not many dining choices around the area (better choices would be at Odawara or Hakone Yumoto areas instead)
All looking and listening to the instructions by the hotel staff, telling us how to get to Little Prince Museum
 |
| Favorite pose by the boys this trip |
We headed to Little Prince Museum first. It was near lunch time and we settle it at the pasta restaurant near the Little Prince Museum. It has a cosy setting and serves reasonable nice food and good coffee (highly sought after beverage for me throughout this trip!). Costs us about JPY1600 per person..
Outside the restaurant
 |
| Cosy place that shielded us from the cold |
 |
| He managed to finish an adult portion all by himself |
We took a picture while enjoying the cold chill outside the restaurant. The weather in Hakone was much colder than Tokyo city and we were trying to get used to it...
We bought a multi- museum pass to enter into both Little Prince and Venetian Glass museums. I forgot the story about Little Prince although I read the book when I was in secondary school. It was hard for me to share the background of the story with the boys as a result. Nonetheless, they had a good time playing in the open spaces under the chilling weather..
 |
| best buddies |
 |
| the garden is beautiful! |
 |
| with the Little Prince Statue |
 |
| I remember this flower has some significance |
Outside the Venetian Glass Museum
It was breathtaking the moment we entered...
Weather was so cold that Elliot had to wear a face mask to cover his nose and mouth.
 |
| playing for a long time at this particular spot |
 |
| they loved the soap bubbles from the Santa house |
The boys were very captivated by the ducks in the pond
 |
| waiting by the pond while we went to look for Brian and Winnie |
 |
| sun set at about 4pm and it was a different view |
I think both museums are worth a visit but it'll be better if we had known more about the Little Prince story. After the museum tours, we rested at our hotel for an hour before we headed out to find some place for our dinner.
Having Wi-fi is important when you are navigating in Japan, or any foreign country, With the help of GPS, we found a few eateries after 10 minutes walk in the cold (it was 5 degrees at night!).
Small establishment which serves big portions of set dinner. It was quite nice but I felt that it's too pricey for simple set dinners like these.. and we were layered with 8% consumer tax as well (wondered if Japan has the same tax structure as SG, if so, I doubt this small outlet has high turnover to implement consumer taxes). Nonetheless, in places like Hakone, I can't complain too much.. hahaa
 |
| chicken teriyaki set |
 |
| Tempura Udon for E |
 |
| my all-time favorite tempura don set |
No comments:
Post a Comment