Japan (Tokyo - Hakone - Kawagoe) July 23-28, 2016
Japan was the first country I ever visited on a business trip in 1995. Although we transited in Japan several times in the last 20 years but we didn't have a chance to make a trip until now. I was really excited to come back again with my family.
July 23
We arrived Tokyo/Narita Airport around 2:30 pm. After managing to leave some luggage at the airport, we bought bus tickets from the airport to the taxi terminal near the hotel and took a taxi there. There was no way to take a train or bus directly to the hotel we booked. It was really interesting to see how Japanese worked for the bus system. They were really organized and punctual especially when everyone loaded the luggage into the bus and the buses were on time perfectly.
We checked in at our hotel, Sotetsu Fresa Inn Tokyo-Toyocho. Second floor was where our room was located. The room was pretty small for 4 people but it was typical in Japan. Sean and Luke slept on bunk beds.
We started using their train system by going to Tokyo Skytree. It is the world's highest free-stand broadcasting tower. We had dinner at the tower (food courts) before going up to the reservation desk of the tower.
It was pretty neat to see Tokyo at night. There was a "window cleaning" show as well. The kids had fun walking over the glass floor while I was really nervous and scared of looking down. I meant it. It was really scared!
We went back to the hotel around 9 pm. There was a small food mart near the hotel that we always stopped by and bought breakfast items for the next mornings.
July 24
We were now pretty familiar with the train system. In fact Sean was really good at this. I told him what we were going to do. He then bought tickets and led us to the correct lines/destinations.
We explored all the tourist areas today including Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Shinjuku National Garden and Tokyo Tower.
Harajuku:
We visited the famous Shrine and the shopping center.
Shibuya:
I really loved seeing people crossing at Shibuya, the world's busiest crossing. We also crossed the street several times. It was fun.
Shinjuku:
It was known as the large entertainment and shopping area. We did buy a couple portable chargers here.
Shinjuku National Park:
It was a nice park. We sat on the ground and relax! We then walked around the park. You wouldn't believe tons of people were playing Pokémon-Go in the park!
Tokyo Tower:
We ended our day and had dinner here. We got to see Tokyo at day too. The boys also had fun playing games in One Piece Tower while my husband and I had a good time chatting and having ice cream (of course, green tea ice cream).
July 25
We travelled by Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Hakone. We had to take metro trains from the hotel to the Shinkansen station. It was really interesting to be on metro trains in Tokyo Monday morning. They were PACKED!
We bought assigned seats for Shinkansen. We were in the train #6. When we were riding on the train we didn't realize how fast Shinkansen was going. Until we came down and saw the other Shinkansen passing us, it was SUPER fast!
Odawara Castle
I wanted to visit a Japanese castle and this was not too far from Tokyo. Odawara Castle was our first stop today. Odawara station was the 3rd station from Tokyo. The castle was the landmark in the city of Odawara which it took us about 15 mins to walk from the station to the castle. There were many different exhibits that you could read and learn about Odawara history. The castle was beautiful and the surroundings was calm and peaceful. It was worth it for us.
July 26
We planned to visit Owakudani Valley by ropeway. We were lucky because today was the first day the valley was opened again (after it was closed for several months). Therefore, there were special activities including music bands. Owakudani was volcano scenic area and well known for black eggs. Eggs (shell) turned black when they were boiled in hot springs. Everyone who had been there wouldn't miss this. We even tried it. The taste was just like regular boiled eggs though :) In the valley area, the smell of Sulphur was really strong. Owakudani was a great location to see Mt. Fuji on good weather days. Unfortunately, it was raining so we couldn't see Mt. Fuji. However, we still had a great time visiting the area.
After that, we decided to have late lunch at the restaurant opposite to the museum. This place was small but cleaned and cozy. The foods were great and authentic.
The bus station was right next to the restaurant. We rode the bus back and got off at the bus stop near the hotel. Sean and dad walked to the hotel to get the luggage while Luke and I walked to Hakone station and bought train tickets for going back to Tokyo (the same hotel we stayed on the first and second night). We got to go in Shinkansen again.
July 27
We planned to visit 2 places today - Imperial Palace and Kawagoe.
We started our day by walking in Imperial Palace Garden. It was big and beautiful. We then walked to the Imperial Palace and found the famous spot where everyone probably saw this scene in a lot of magazines. There were a lot of people there and of course we got pictures for our family too.
We headed to Kawagoe, a historic town (Edo Period). It was about 30 mins from Tokyo by train. I didn't plan well on this place so we had to ask several people. There were a young couple who helped us since we got off from the train. We were lucky that they also took the same bus with us for their destination. They were so kind. Without them, we wouldn't know what to do.
Walking around Kawagoe, I loved the traditional buildings. We went in the Hello Kitty shop since my sister wanted a Hello Kitty key chain. I found one for her and got one for me as well. Really cute.
We continued our walk to visit the shrine on the other side of Kawagoe. The weather was good for us that afternoon. After spending about 4 hours in Kawagoe, we rode on the traditional bus back to Kawagoe station and took the train back to Tokyo.
July 28
Sensoji Temple located in Asakusa. Very crowded morning, we visited the temple before we left to the airport in the afternoon. We walked from the entrance (Kaminarimon - Thunder Gate) to the other end of second gate, the Hozomon through the shopping street. Although, there were so many souvenir shops, we didn't buy anything except green tea ice cream :) Yummy! The main hall of the temple was next to the Hozomon. Both gates had huge, red traditional lanterns. This temple was the most famous and the oldest temple in Tokyo.
We enjoyed time in Japan. We had a lot of green tea Frappucino and green tea ice-cream. The Japanese train system was amazing. It was clean and convenient although sometime we had to do a long walk to connect trains. Onsen was also an awesome experience. Tokyo, Hakone and Kawagoe were the best mix for our trip! We hope we will have a chance to come back to visit other part of Japan again! Great time with family.
Other trips:
- Canada (Calgary, Banff, Jasper and Yoho)
- Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Monica and Venice Beach
- Transit Tour in Hong Kong
- Salzburg, Vienna and Prague
- Southern Laos
- Japan (Tokyo-Hakone-Kawagoe)
- Washington State
- Universal Studios, FL
- NOLA and Bahamas
- Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon and Antalop Canyon
- Paris, France
- Montserrat and Barcelona, Spain
- Dubai
- Laos (Vang Vieng and Vientien)
- Disney World, FL
- Skiing Red River, NM
- Niagara Falls, Toronto, San Francisco and Los Angeles
- Western Caribbean Cruise (Jamaica, Cayman Island and mexico)
- Camping Guadalupe River, TX
July 23
We arrived Tokyo/Narita Airport around 2:30 pm. After managing to leave some luggage at the airport, we bought bus tickets from the airport to the taxi terminal near the hotel and took a taxi there. There was no way to take a train or bus directly to the hotel we booked. It was really interesting to see how Japanese worked for the bus system. They were really organized and punctual especially when everyone loaded the luggage into the bus and the buses were on time perfectly.
We checked in at our hotel, Sotetsu Fresa Inn Tokyo-Toyocho. Second floor was where our room was located. The room was pretty small for 4 people but it was typical in Japan. Sean and Luke slept on bunk beds.
We started using their train system by going to Tokyo Skytree. It is the world's highest free-stand broadcasting tower. We had dinner at the tower (food courts) before going up to the reservation desk of the tower.
It was pretty neat to see Tokyo at night. There was a "window cleaning" show as well. The kids had fun walking over the glass floor while I was really nervous and scared of looking down. I meant it. It was really scared!
We went back to the hotel around 9 pm. There was a small food mart near the hotel that we always stopped by and bought breakfast items for the next mornings.
We were now pretty familiar with the train system. In fact Sean was really good at this. I told him what we were going to do. He then bought tickets and led us to the correct lines/destinations.
We explored all the tourist areas today including Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Shinjuku National Garden and Tokyo Tower.
Harajuku:
We visited the famous Shrine and the shopping center.
Shibuya:
I really loved seeing people crossing at Shibuya, the world's busiest crossing. We also crossed the street several times. It was fun.
Shinjuku:
It was known as the large entertainment and shopping area. We did buy a couple portable chargers here.
Shinjuku National Park:
It was a nice park. We sat on the ground and relax! We then walked around the park. You wouldn't believe tons of people were playing Pokémon-Go in the park!
Tokyo Tower:
We ended our day and had dinner here. We got to see Tokyo at day too. The boys also had fun playing games in One Piece Tower while my husband and I had a good time chatting and having ice cream (of course, green tea ice cream).
We travelled by Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Hakone. We had to take metro trains from the hotel to the Shinkansen station. It was really interesting to be on metro trains in Tokyo Monday morning. They were PACKED!
We bought assigned seats for Shinkansen. We were in the train #6. When we were riding on the train we didn't realize how fast Shinkansen was going. Until we came down and saw the other Shinkansen passing us, it was SUPER fast!
I wanted to visit a Japanese castle and this was not too far from Tokyo. Odawara Castle was our first stop today. Odawara station was the 3rd station from Tokyo. The castle was the landmark in the city of Odawara which it took us about 15 mins to walk from the station to the castle. There were many different exhibits that you could read and learn about Odawara history. The castle was beautiful and the surroundings was calm and peaceful. It was worth it for us.
Hakone:
We bought Hakone Pass which included all transportation in Hakone area.
From Odawara to Hakone, we rode on a train for 15 mins. Hakone was known for beautiful mountain scenery with Mt Fuji, lakes, traditional hotels/inns, onsen and museums. This place was really beautiful. I loved it. Once we arrived Hakone station, we still had to take the shuttle bus to the hotel, left the luggage and walked back to the station. Then we took another bus to Lake Ashi for the cruise. We were on the last cruise for today. We enjoyed the lake and mountains. Good time there although we couldn't get to see Mt.Fuji.
We came back from the lake just in time for dinner at the hotel. The dinner was traditional Japanese meals. We got to try everything they had to offer! The highlight of the night was to be in Onsen. We had to take off clothes, put on the Japanese ropes and walked to the onsen area. Men and women onsen were separated of course. We had to make sure we cleaned and washed our body well before using onsen. I was a little bit nervous of doing this but it was such a good experience for all of us. I would do it again if we have a chance to come back to Japan.
Tonight we got to sleep on the floor - traditional Japanese style bed. It was fun but I wouldn't do this everyday.
We planned to visit Owakudani Valley by ropeway. We were lucky because today was the first day the valley was opened again (after it was closed for several months). Therefore, there were special activities including music bands. Owakudani was volcano scenic area and well known for black eggs. Eggs (shell) turned black when they were boiled in hot springs. Everyone who had been there wouldn't miss this. We even tried it. The taste was just like regular boiled eggs though :) In the valley area, the smell of Sulphur was really strong. Owakudani was a great location to see Mt. Fuji on good weather days. Unfortunately, it was raining so we couldn't see Mt. Fuji. However, we still had a great time visiting the area.
After Owakudani, we continued our day by visiting the Little Price Museum. My boys didn't know much about the Little Prince but they learned :) The museum was dedicated to the author. The buildings were gorgeous and garden was beautiful. All exhibits were well done and maintained. The museum wasn't on our original plan but I was glad we visited.
The bus station was right next to the restaurant. We rode the bus back and got off at the bus stop near the hotel. Sean and dad walked to the hotel to get the luggage while Luke and I walked to Hakone station and bought train tickets for going back to Tokyo (the same hotel we stayed on the first and second night). We got to go in Shinkansen again.
July 27
We planned to visit 2 places today - Imperial Palace and Kawagoe.
We started our day by walking in Imperial Palace Garden. It was big and beautiful. We then walked to the Imperial Palace and found the famous spot where everyone probably saw this scene in a lot of magazines. There were a lot of people there and of course we got pictures for our family too.
We headed to Kawagoe, a historic town (Edo Period). It was about 30 mins from Tokyo by train. I didn't plan well on this place so we had to ask several people. There were a young couple who helped us since we got off from the train. We were lucky that they also took the same bus with us for their destination. They were so kind. Without them, we wouldn't know what to do.
Walking around Kawagoe, I loved the traditional buildings. We went in the Hello Kitty shop since my sister wanted a Hello Kitty key chain. I found one for her and got one for me as well. Really cute.
Next, we went to Candy street where there were a lot of shops selling sweets/snacks. We got to try Japanese buns and snow cones :)
We ended our day having last dinner (Tempura) in Ginza. Good choice!
Sensoji Temple located in Asakusa. Very crowded morning, we visited the temple before we left to the airport in the afternoon. We walked from the entrance (Kaminarimon - Thunder Gate) to the other end of second gate, the Hozomon through the shopping street. Although, there were so many souvenir shops, we didn't buy anything except green tea ice cream :) Yummy! The main hall of the temple was next to the Hozomon. Both gates had huge, red traditional lanterns. This temple was the most famous and the oldest temple in Tokyo.
We enjoyed time in Japan. We had a lot of green tea Frappucino and green tea ice-cream. The Japanese train system was amazing. It was clean and convenient although sometime we had to do a long walk to connect trains. Onsen was also an awesome experience. Tokyo, Hakone and Kawagoe were the best mix for our trip! We hope we will have a chance to come back to visit other part of Japan again! Great time with family.
Other trips:
- Canada (Calgary, Banff, Jasper and Yoho)
- Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Monica and Venice Beach
- Transit Tour in Hong Kong
- Salzburg, Vienna and Prague
- Southern Laos
- Japan (Tokyo-Hakone-Kawagoe)
- Washington State
- Universal Studios, FL
- NOLA and Bahamas
- Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon and Antalop Canyon
- Paris, France
- Montserrat and Barcelona, Spain
- Dubai
- Laos (Vang Vieng and Vientien)
- Disney World, FL
- Skiing Red River, NM
- Niagara Falls, Toronto, San Francisco and Los Angeles
- Western Caribbean Cruise (Jamaica, Cayman Island and mexico)
- Camping Guadalupe River, TX
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