Saturday, August 29, 2015

Birthday Trip to Japan - Hakone

Hakone got to be our favorite destination during our entire trip. It is very famous for its onsen sources and ryokan resorts. I have always wanted to try dipping into an onsen as, aside from its health and beauty benefits, I believe that we have not entirely experienced Japan if we did not try one of its central feature. Thus, to get to Hakone, I booked the Romancecar a month in advance to get the front and back observation decks which are considered to be the best seats for good view. 


A photo of the front observation deck taken on our way back to Tokyo

(Image source: tripadvisor.com)

If you really want to book a good seats like me, make sure you visit the Odakyu website exactly a month beforehand as all front/back observation decks seats will be taken within a few minutes. It is definitely worth the trouble as you will get to enjoy a better view like...


.... this one. 
If you are lucky enough, you may even get to see Mount Fuji on clear days.

Not to mention, there are plenty of leg room as well.


The seats are incredibly comfortable! 
The reason it is called the Romance Car is because of its two-person seats without separating armrests which gave me the opportunity to lie comfortably on my dear during the entire trip.



I love "loveseat"!!


A better photo of me taken when my dear fell asleep.

If you are planning to visit Hakone, I will recommend you to get a Hakone Freepass which is a discount excursion ticket offering full coverage of the popular sightseeing destination in Hakone. In addition, it also allows you to get on and off different types of transports free and provides discount admission to various attraction within the area. FYI, a 2-Day freepass cost approximately 5200yen for adults.

Using the Romancecar train ride, it took us 85 minutes to reach Hakone from Shinjuku station which is considered one of the fastest mode of transport. Once we arrived there, we took a shuttle bus to our first destination - Hakone Yuryo.


At the entrance of Hakone Yuryo. 
We chose this hot spring resort mainly because it is one of the few places in Japan that offers private open-air onsen (since we did not like the idea of sharing public hot springs with strangers). Private onsen is considered a luxury as it can be quite a costly experience.

Before we started soaking in our private onsen, we headed for their restaurant to fill our stomachs.

 

The restaurant interior looks very traditional and cosy.



Surprisingly, their cuisine were the best we had eaten in our entire trip. We would love to dine there again!

After a satisfying lunch, we headed over to our private onsen.


As the other rooms which were cheaper but had smaller onsens were fully booked, we got no choice but to settle for the most expensive one. I regretted not making a reservation in advance o(´^`)o.


The entrance

Our private room


Our open-air onsen which was smaller than we had expected as it was supposed to look like the photo below:


Nevertheless, it was still beautiful.


They provide some excellent and expensive hair and body products for our after onsen use. 




I'm dressed in a yukata (^▽^)!

My dear looks so handsome in his yukata (´∀`)♡!!

After soaking in the onsen, the body aches that we were having previously, due to many hours of walking and travelling, magically vanished (/゚Д゚)/! We were equally surprised that our skin became smoother and a shade fairer!! I had read about the many health and skincare benefits of different onsen around Japan. Some hot springs are said to provide the skin-tightening effect while others have the abilities to lower high blood pressure and cure 40,000 different types of diseases and disorders. Therefore, they called onsen the Healing Waters. However, I definitely did not expect it to have such immediate effect. We left the resort feeling like we obtained new and better bodies (-^〇^-). It had left such an immediate and deep impression on us that we will surely visit one again.

Feeling refreshed, we headed over to Lake Ashi. It was a 40 minutes bus ride which we got to witness so many beautiful sceneries on our way up the mountain.


The rare beauty of an untouched nature...


...with clouds so near us.



At the entrance of Lake Ashi


It was pretty cooling and cloudy at Lake Ashi as it was located somewhere high in the mountain.


Lake Ashi was formed in the caldera of Mount Hakone after the volcano's last eruption 3000 years ago. Today, it is a popular tourist destination that is famous for the pirate ships, picturesque views of the surrounding mountains and the floating torri of Hakone Shrine.



I was so mesmerised by the unsurpassed beauty of Lake Ashi. As I stared out at the open lake, I felt complete peace and calmness for the first time; seemingly washing away all my problems and worries.

 It was love at first sight. 

Although it started to rain after a brief while, we were so in love with the place that we decided to tour the lake on their famous pirate ship.



Here's a closer look of the superior pirate ship.


We paid for an upgrade to the first class cabin and realized that we were the only passengers there. Thus, we had the whole upper deck to ourselves ヾ(☆▽☆)!


How glamorous is that?!


We definitely felt like King and Queen (≧∇≦) !



We decided to venture out from the comfort of our fine inner deck as soon as the rain lightened.


The view outside was just breathtaking!



Even though we couldn't catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji due to the heavy mist, we thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent view that only Lake Ashi can offer.




I was so madly in love with the lake that I savor every moment of appreciating its existence.
Japan has got one of the most beautiful and peaceful place on earth.


There was a divider that separated us from the economic cabin which granted us complete privacy.



So, since we were the only ones on the open deck, we were able to re-enact Titanic. It was another romantic moment without the tragedy. I must be the luckiest girl in the world to be able to experience such spectacular view with a prince who appreciate romance as much as I do (´∀`)♡.






What an unmatched beauty!

It was a pity that we didn't have the time to visit the Hakone shrine which is famous for its huge torri gates and its beautiful heavily misty surrounding. Then again, it provides us with another good reason to visit this marvellous place which we love so much again.

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Our next trip will be back to Bali - To celebrate my dear's birthday ヽ(*≧ω≦)ノ!!!

♔Ashley

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Saturday, August 22, 2015

Birthday Trip to Japan - DisneySea


As some of you may already know, my favorite place on earth is none other than Disneyland! It is in this magical place where I first got together with my prince. Thus, I will always make an effort to plan a trip back there. However, I have learnt to avoid visiting Disneyland or Sea during the summer holiday as it was super crowded and the intense heat didn't make our trip any more bearable. We didn't get to sit most of the rides as the queues were ridiculously long and the summer heat made us feel so uncomfortable. Nonetheless, we did tour the entire Disneysea and took many photos which I will be sharing in this post (///∇//)!



Unlike Disneyland, we were required to take the Disney train to DisneySea that cost approximately 260yen per person. Considering it is only a 5 mins one-way ticket ride, it is pretty costly. On the positive note, the train is, without a doubt, cute with its mickey mouse's windows and train handles. The seats are soft and comfortable enough to make us want to sit in the train longer. Furthermore, we got to enjoy some cheery Disney music throughout our ride. Most probably, we won't get to experience this kind of train ride anywhere else besides Disneyland Park.


I will never forget to take a photo with my prince (^▽^)❤


Our couple tickets!! かわいい、よ \(@ ̄∇ ̄@)/~!!



The entrance into DisneySea!


Unlike Disneyland, Disneysea looks less magical and fairytale-like inside....





... but the view is awesome!


Disneysea does live up to its name as the entire place is surrounded by sea


There are plenty of water rides...


...but the waiting time for each rides exceeded 45 minutes (>.<). We regretted not getting the fast pass.


Having limited choices as we did not like waiting under the hot sun, we went for a short boat tour that goes around a small part of Disneysea. 




After the boat ride, the rest of our tour was by foot. For us, walking a lot in Japan is an understatement. We did so much long-distance walks everyday that we would go back to our hotel with sore feet and aching muscles but despite that, I enjoyed every single step I took in Japan ヽ(*≧ω≦)ノ. Trust me, I will never step foot into any place I dislike. If there is one place I will break my leg in, it would be in Japan or Disneyland, for sure. 







As we walked about aimlessly, we realized that many Japanese who visited Disneyland in pairs or groups would make an effort to dress up in an identical fashion. It was so fun to watch people wearing the exact same outfits, shoes, hairstyle, hats and even bags walking around the park as a pack  ≧◡≦! Most Japanese, unlike many Singaporeans, take their appearances very seriously therefore almost everyone is fashionable and looks good in Japan. Sloppiness is an uncommon sight there. That is one cultural aspects of Japan that I greatly appreciate.

Moving on to...

The Toy Story Land....



.... and the famous haunted mansion of Disneysea which we sadly didn't get to experience due to the crazy queues with an estimated waiting time of 110 minutes ≧△≦.







Onwards to the land of Aladdin!!


At least we got to experience sitting on the Jasmine flying carpet...




Then, we got ourselves a Duffy's drink which is rather expensive but tasty (//∇//). FYI, Duffy is the Disney bear and he's really popular!


This could be my dear's favorite ride as he kept singing the simbad theme song that was played throughout the ride to me then after. 

I think this was the only attraction that the queue was shorter than the ride...







The next destination was my favorite....


It's the land of the Little Mermaid ヽ(*≧ω≦)ノ!!

The Mermaid Lagoon is the only indoor themed-land...


It's so beautiful inside!! 


However, the queue to all the mermaid attractions were crazily long, so I was pretty upset that I didn't get to experience any of the rides and the lagoon theatre o(´^`)o

Sensing my misery, my dear did something extraordinary sweet. He took me to the Mermaid princess Disney store and bought me this gorgeous pair of Little Mermaid earrings o(≧▽≦)o!! 

DisneySea = Little Mermaid earrings theme  (´∀`)♡! What a brilliant idea!
It was love at first sight!!

He's a genius when it comes to cheering me up (and also in almost everything he does)! Whenever I think back to the time when he promised to bring me to every Disneyland in the world and get me a pair of Disney earrings, I will feel so blessed ( ─▽─ ). Thus, for him to remember his promise and fulfil it each time is one of the most precious moments of my life. He really does treat me like a princess. 

However, I guess there are rarely any Prince Charming in Japan because when my dear approached the saleslady to purchase the earrings, she thought that he was buying them for himself and told him he needed to have ear piercings in order to wear them. Lol (≧∇≦)! It was not until I went over to him did she realize that the earrings were meant for me and immediately apologized. My dear felt really awkward after that though I couldn't stop laughing. He couldn't understand why the saleslady would even think he was buying the earrings for himself. I suppose getting gifts for girlfriends is an uncommon gesture, but it is probably not a bizarre thing for a guy to wear little mermaid earrings in Japan (^▽^) .

To distract him from the lingering feeling of awkwardness, I suggested that we climb to the peak of a tower to catch a wonderful view.



Whatever thought or feeling you had previously will instantly be replaced by awe after witnessing this magnificent view (*´▽`*).

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 As it was getting late and the waiting time for each attraction didn't seem like they were getting shorter, we decided to leave Disneysea so we could grab ourselves some dinner. As expected, I was sad to leave the happiest place in the world but I will have my dear to bring me back next time ヾ(☆▽☆)!

On our way back, I will like to share with you some very cute delicacy which we saw in Shinjuku station.


 Japan is such an evil place because they lure us to bankruptcy with too so cute things  (*゚ロ゚)!!!

 
Even their bentos are so freaking adorable! OMG  (/゚Д゚)/ ! They made us want to buy everything we saw!!

However, these overly cute Japanese cuisine weren't what my dear sought for the most.

His most beloved Japanese snack is none other than...



Calbee JagaRiko Cheese

Yes, Calbee....


He loves it so much that whenever we passed by any convenient stores, he would buy two to four cups and even know which stores sell the cheapest Calbee (-_-)".

His love for Calbee was so deep that the end of the week, we were able to build a Calbee tower with the remaining cups of uneaten Calbee in our hotel room....

Behold the mighty tower of Calbee JagaRiko Cheese (ノTДT)!!

He even came up with a slogan as a dedication:
"Calbee is love, Calbee is life"

I was so jealous that I ate two of his Calbee cups! Lol! But the truth is, it was really nice so I couldn't agree with him more. With that, Calbee JagaRiko cheese had become our favorite snack after this Japan trip (^▽^)❤


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♔Ashley

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