Monday, December 5, 2016

Japan Honeymoon: Day 3 - From Hakone to Osaka

On the 3rd day of our honeymoon, we travelled to Osaka via Shinkansen reserved seat, which is covered under our 14 days JR pass.

The ride took almost 3 hours and we reached our Air bnb stay around mid afternoon.


Above pictured grabbed from airbnb site. The place is about 10mins walk from subway. The room was spacious for 2 pax with ensuite, kitchen (with appliances), bathtub and washing machine.

Overall, the hubby loved the place so much that for our upcoming Seoul trip, he wanted to stay with airbnb again.

There is convenience store about 5 mins walk from the apartment, and we bought breakfast and prepared it in the apartment the next day.

After settling done, we went to Den-Den Town for some toys and electrical goods window shopping. Not much photos for the day, but we had Buta Don (grilled pork don) at a random shop and it was sooo good!

Also, we came across a shop that sells retro games and it brought back alot of memories.

Picture taken from taiken.co

At night, we went to the famous Shinsaibashi & Dotonbori area for dinner. The place is a food paradise, you can find the osaka specialty here, from takoyaki to Kushikatsu (fried skewers) and famous Pablo cheesecake here. Where to eat? Just follow the queue!

We were too full, on all 3 days we were at the street, so we did not managed to eat any of the foods there :( even Pablo,  but luckily we did had our taste of Pablo Cheesecake in Tokyo (I will share in another post).

We got confused, as there is Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori, even up till now I am confused. But, after some research, Shinsaibashi is for shopping and Dotonbori is for food and where the famous landmark, Glico running man is located.


We spent about 10mins looking for this o.O

Also, if you are near the area, remember to drop by Don Qoijote (it's a one stop shop where they sell everything from food to appliance. Just look for the 'penguin'!

Picture from google.com 

We did nothing much on our 3rd day, just explore Osaka and back to our apartment to rest.

The next few days at Osaka, we went for buffet (IKR, go travel, die2 also must eat buffet) & visited Kyoto! Stay tuned!

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Japan Honeymoon: Day 2 - Hakone (Part 2)

As we are trying for baby, we went to the famous Baby Tree at Hakone Jinja Shrine. After reading about how Cheeserland and QiuQiu touched the tree and got pregnant, we die2 have to go and touch also..but alas, I only have food tummy post 6 months of touching the tree :(


We alighted at Motohakone-Ko and walked for approx. 10mins to Hakone Jinja Shrine.



There is a place for you to wash your hands before entering the shrine, I think you start with holding the ladle with your right hand, then pour the water to your left, then switch and lastly use your right hand to wash your mouth. Voila, instructions from a noob :)


Another flight of stairs to reach the baby wishing tree...


Another wash before the mighty tree..

BEHOLD...the mighty 'Baby Wishing Tree'...


Looks just like an ordinary old tree, but I supposed we did not managed to absorb the 'baby making power' from the tree.

After purchasing some amulets, we went to tour the place. Zen is the only word to describe the place. 


Overlooking Lake Ashi.

Overall, both of us really love the place a lot as it is really peaceful and beautiful, will definitely be visiting again!

We rushed back to our Hotel - Mount View Hakone for dinner.


Dinner spread wasn't impressive, there was udon, sashimi, crab claw, tofu, fish, rice and some veges. But I guess for RM990+ per night, it was ok as there's dinner+breakfast+futon bed :)


Fresh sashimi for dinner.



We prepared for our private onsen (hot spring) session, priced at 2000yen (RM76).


There's a nice view from the open onsen. The tub is basically a small round tub with milky hot spring water. The water was hot, but with the wind blowing, you will get used to the temperature very soon.


Breakfast the next day. Loved the pork sausage, crab soup and the coffee...


The ryokan was spacious with nice fluffy futon beds. The only cons is there wasn't any shower in the room, so we had to go to the public hot spring on the Lobby level.

Apart from the public hot spring, there is also a private hot spring for family (no charge), and the difference with those that you have to pay is that there is no view. So, use the onsen as much as you can during your stay!


And that's the end of our Hakone 2d1n trip. We will definitely include Hakone in our next trip to Japan again, or at least any other place in Japan with Ryokan + hot spring experience!


Hyatt House KL - Gallery Kitchen & Ten37 Sky Bar

It's nice to chill and spend time with the hubs in a quiet place with view, especially during the pandemic. Located in Mont Kiara, right...