We had Japanese/Western buffet breakfast this morning. Quite a wide and good selection of Japanese/Western food
Soba/miso soup
Restaurant interior - Juices/coffee/tea
Japanese fishcake/Many variety of Japanese dishes
Siew Mai in a special steamer
Miso Soup/Rice
Soba Mee section
Salad/Scrambled Egg/Ham/Hot Dog
Assorted breads
Finally, fruits and cornflakes
Managed to find out an alternative route to Moto-Hakone by bus after breakfast. Based on the timetable, there is still some time before check out.
Went for a soak in the hotspring close to 10am so the place was quite deserted. 10am is cleaning time. The ladies' outdoor hotspring had a good view of Mt Fuji on a clear day but it was misty and foggy this morning so there was no view. Tried both outdoor and indoor hotspring.
Checked out and took a cab to Togendai to catch the connecting Odakyu highhway bus to Hakone-en. The hotel had a free shuttle but due to miscommunication, we missed the shuttle. At Togendai, there was no sight of the Odakyu highway bus. Instead, the Tozan bus to Odawara station was waiting at the bus bay. Decided to skip Moto-Hakone and go to Odawara directly.
Pampas Grass (or Lalang) around Sengkou en route to Odawara
The bus journey took about an hour to Odawara East Exit. Kept our backpacks in a locker and bought some bentos from the station. All the restaurants were packed with office lunch crowds
Odawara Station
Statue outside the station
Took about 10mins to walk to Odawara Castle. It was extremely windy today though sunny. The weather here was much better than that in Hakone. We had
lunch - beef bento at garden outside Odawara Castle - costed 900yen each.
Odawara Castle
Surrounding areas
Statue of Ninomiya
Before the Pacific War, all of the Japanese elementary schools had a bronze statue of Ninomiya in the courtyard, exactly the same one as shown in the picture here. It demonstrates that the young Ninomiya is reading a book even at a time when carrying a bundle of firewood on his back. Ninomiya was a role model for schoolchildren, and the elderly Japanese born before 1935 must remember the statue vividly. Back at the time, ethics was an obligatory subject in all elementary schools. Textbooks praised him as a paragon of virtue combining his code of ethics with Confucian virtue of sincerity, diligence and thrift.
Shrine and its surroundings. This Shrine is dedicated to the spirit of a great agronomist named Sontoku Ninomiya, who was born near here and whose childhood name was Kinjiro. Not only did he contribute greatly to the development of agriculture in Japan, but also was revered as a man of Confucian virtue. Shinto shrines in Japan often enshrine divinized persons such as legendary ancestors of the Imperial Family, historic heroes and great men.
Tori gate
Akagane Gate leading to the exit or main entrance
Moat surrounding the castle area
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Moat surrounding the castle
The Red Bridge across the moat
Streets around Odawara
Odawara Station in background
Outside Odawara Station East Exit
Shop selling toiletries - bought 2 lip gross for 156yen each - cheap
Odawara town taken from Odawara Station 7th floor
Roamed around Odawara train Station when at around 2 plus, hubby asked me to check the platform number of the Romance Car with Odakyu Sightseeing Serivce Centre. To our horror, the lady said that the train track for the Romance Car was damaged. She refunded me the delta (750yen/person) for the Romance Car. We took the Rapid Express to Shinjuku and the train was pretty fast, only 15mins slower than the the Romance Car.
Upon arrival at Shinjuku, went to buy Krispy Kreme. No long queue.
Bought orignal honey gazed donuts again (160yen each, a box of 12 costed 1600yen). Yummy, yummy! Hot from the conveyor belt.
Took this in US while on training and fell in love with it. It tastes very different from the normal donut and it is a hit in Japan, judging from the queue. There was no queue in US!
Train tracks at Shinjuku Station
Around Shinjuku
Took JR Yamanote back to Ueno.
Back in Okichamachi - JR tracks above
Checked in Hotel Sardonyx Ueno for the weekends. This time, our rooms were 401/404. Did laundry using Hotel's coin washer/dryer on 3rd floor. Washing costed 100yen. Detergent 50yen. Drying costed 200yen for 30min.
Our Japan Itinerary
Day 1 - Flight to Incheon-Seoul
Day 2 - Breakfast -> Incheon Transit area -> Lunch -> Tokyo, Narita -> Limited Express to Ueno -> Checked in Sardonyx Hotel (Review) -> Matsusaka Beef Steak Dinner at Satou, Kichijoji -> Shinjuku at Night
Day 3 – Breakfast -> Odyaku Romance Car to Hakone-Yumoto -> Small train to Gora Station -> Leave luggages at Setsugetsuka Hotel -> Gora -> Sounzan -> Owakudani Boiling Valley -> Black Eggs -> Togendai -> checked into Setsugetsuka Hotel (Review)-> Dinner at hotel restaurant -> Outside the hotel at night
Day 4 - Breakfast -> Gora Station -> Checked out -> Gotemba Premium Outlet -> Togendai -> Check in to Hakone Green Plaza (Review) -> Dinner
Day 5 - Breakfast -> Checked out -> Odawara Castle -> Checked in Sardonyx Ueno -> Ueno Unagi Dinner at Izuei Honten, Ueno -> Ameyoko
Day 6 - Breakfast - > Ueno Park -> Lunch at Tsujiki -> Imperial Palace -> Ginza -> Asakusa -> View from Shinjuku Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building -> Ramen Dinner
Day 7 - Breakfast -> Early Lunch at Kyushu Jangara, Harajuku -> Meiji Shrine -> Harajuku -> Shibuya -> -> Dinner at Shinsuke, Shin-Urayasu
Day 8 - Tokyo Disneyland -> Lunch at Tomorrowland Terrace -> Dinner at Hokusai
Day 9 - Breakfast -> Tokyo Disneysea -> Lunch at Vulcania -> Dinner at Sakura
Day 10 - Breakfast - > Check out -> Skyliner to Narita Airport-> Holiday Inn Tobu Narita (Review) -> Lunch at Edokko Sushi
-> Old Narita Temple Town -> Naritasan Temple -> Dinner at Aeon Shopping Centre
Day 11 - Breakfast -> Flight back to Incheon -> Transit -> Lunch at Incheon -> Home Sweet Home
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