Time to Go Home

It's our final half day of our vacation. Before leaving for the airport, we met with friends from New York for brunch. It was special for us to be able to meet with them because we had not seen one friend for 4 years and the other Alexis had not seen in 9 years (This was my first time meeting her). We met in the French district, so we expected to have a western style brunch, but instead we went to a Korean restaurant. We had a dish with rice cakes and beef, a kimchi pancake, and steamed short ribs. They were all very tasty, especially the beef short ribs. We finished the meal with pan fried mochi squares. To eat the mochi squares, we dipped the mochi into a dark honey to give it some sweetness. It was all very good and a nice way to end our trip. It was nice catching up with friends who we have not seen in a long time, and we were fortunate that they had flexibility in their schedule to meet with us.

After lunch, we rushed back to Bori's place and finished packing. Bori escorted us to the subway station, and helped us find our way to the airport. We got to the airport without any problems, and we made it through security very quickly. Very similar to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Incheon Airport had zoris (slippers) to wear when you walk through security. Alexis was very impressed with that, and she was happy that she didn't have to smell smelly feet while waiting in the security area. Now, we're on the flight back home to San Francisco, and as we fly back , I wanted to spend some time to reflect on our 2 week vacation. This has been an incredible journey, and we had a fantastic time. From eating great food to visiting with old friends, this has been a vacation unlike any other vacation we have ever taken. There was so much variety and special activities we participated in including hiking in Inari, volunteering in Tokyo, and staying overnight in a ryokan. As we sign off on this blog, we wanted to give a special thanks to our friend Bori who let us stay with her in Seoul. She was a wonderful hostess, and she organized our activities in Seoul. Her personal touch on everything made our stay here very smooth, and it was nice to have a local expert introduce us to South Korea.

Alexis and I hope you enjoyed reading our blog, and we look forward to our next adventure!

Seoul Day Tour

Seoul Fish Market
Our first stop this morning was the Seoul fish market. We did not go early in the morning to see the auction, but I wanted to walk around to see all of the fresh fish and other seafood. Compared to Tsukiji, the aisles were much wider, so there was a lot more room to move around. The fish seemed just as fresh, and we had a good time looking at what each vendor was selling. While walking, I encountered an upset fish, and the fish splashed me with his tail. Alexis also got a little wet when a clam squirted water on her. If we lived in Seoul, I would love to shop here on the weekends to cook up some good eats. On our way out, we picked up a few street snacks. We got a flat pancake-like food which was filled with a sugary substance. It was very sweet, and it tasted kind of a like the bread in a McGriddle sandwich.

Chicken Soup
Bori took us to a chicken soup restaurant for lunch today. The soup was served in the traditional Korean soup bowls, so the bowl was quite hot when they served it. The chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender, and was flavored with ginseng, a Korean fruit, and other unfamiliar spices. Inside the chicken in the soup was sticky rice. The large bowl of soup was also served with a Korean version of osekihan, and if I had to do a taste test, I would not be able to differentiate the Korean red rice we ate and traditional Japanese osekihan. Alexis and I had never had this kind of food before, but it was yummy and tasted healthy. Bori mentioned that people typically eat this soup on the hottest days of the year.

Imperial Palace and Secret Garden
We walked to the Imperial Palace and we watched the changing of the guard in front of the imperial palace. The Imperial Palace is quite a tourist attraction with so many people. There were lots of Korean families and foreign tourists. We were a little short on time, so we walked the grounds and took a few pictures before heading out to the Secret Garden. Bori made a 2:30 PM reservation for a tour of the Secret Garden. The 2:30 PM reservation was in English, and our tour group was huge. There may have been 60-70 people in our group, so at times it was a little more difficult to hear our tour guide. The grounds at the Secret Garden are beautiful. The trees, ponds, and other landscape create a serene oasis, and a nice getaway from the rest of Seoul. The tour was 90 minutes, and we snapped a number of pictures as we walked the grounds.

Afternoon Tea
After the Secret Garden Tour, we went to traditional afternoon tea. We shared some rice cake snacks, and tea. This tea place is unique because it's full of little birds. In the background, one can hear the little chirping in the background. After doing so much walking, it was nice to sit down and relax while enjoying tea. After our break, we continued to walk around the area, and we went to a multi-story outdoor mall filled with boutique shops. We shopped for a while before heading out to dinner.

Dinner was at a nearby noodle restaurant. We ordered Kalguksoo (similar to Japanese udon noodles in a chicken broth). We also ordered a seafood pancake and mandoo (steamed gyoza). I love noodles, and it was great to be able to eat some hot soup because the temperature dropped drastically late in the afternoon. Similar to other meals we enjoyed, the restaurant served a side of kimchi Before trying it, Bori warned us that the kimchi was a little different than other kimchis we had been eating. This kimchi was a little different because it was fresh. Rather than having kimchis ferment in a jar, this kimchi was crisper and had a stronger taste. It seemed to have a lot more of the dark red sauce and tons of garlic. It was quite strong, but very addicting. I just have eaten at least one plate of kimchi all on my own.

DMZ and JSA

Our first full day in South Korea was spent traveling to the DMZ. Bori scheduled us on the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel Tour and Panmunjeom Tour, and we had to wake up at 6AM to be picked up by our tour bus at a nearby hotel. Unfortunately, it was raining this morning, so we got quite wet walking over to the other hotel. Our tour bus this morning was full. Every seat on the bus was filled. The highlight of the morning tour was the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel. Only 44 km (27 miles) from Seoul, the tunnel was discovered in October 1978 based on information provided by a North Korean defector. It is apparently designed for a surprise attack on Seoul from North Korea, and can easily accommodate 30,000 men per hour along with light weaponry. Upon discovery of the third tunnel, the United Nations Command accused North Korea of threatening the 1953 armistice agreement signed at the end of the Korean War. Its description as a "tunnel of aggression" was given by the South, who considered it an act of aggression on the part of the North. A total of four tunnels have been discovered so far, but there are believed to be up to twenty tunnels.

Initially, North Korea denied building the tunnel. However, observed drill marks for dynamite in the walls point towards South Korea and the tunnel is inclined so that water drains back towards the northern side of the DMZ (and thus out of the way of continued excavation). North Korea then officially declared it part of a coal mine, and black "coal" was painted on the walls by retreating soldiers to help confirm this statement
In the afternoon, we toured the Joint Security Area ("JSA"). The JSA is where . They gave us very strict requirements before we were allowed into the area. The requirements included:
- No speaking with or making any gestures toward personnel from North Korea;
- Ripped jeans, sleeveless shirts, mini skirts, short pants, military clothing, and sandals are not permitted;
- No shaggy or unkept hair.
- No camera lenses greater than 90mm
- Pictures are only allowed when granted permission by the tour guide or military personnel
- No children under 11 years of age.
The JSA is the only portion of the DMZ where South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face. The area is used by the two Korea for diplomatic engagements. Prior to entering the area, we were escorted by South Korean military personnel, and we attended a briefing where we signed a document that states, "The visit to the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom will entail entry into a hostile area and there is a possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action." After our briefing, we were escorted to an area outside the conference rooms, and we observed the hostile environment with the North and South Korean soldiers facing off from opposite sides of the JSA. After lining up in a straight line outside the conference rooms, we were granted access, and we were able to walk to the North Korean side of the JSA.

After our visit to the JSA, we went to the Dorasan train station which is the last train station before entering North Korea. It's a modern train station, and the train station was built in preparation for the unification of the two Koreas. People do not expect the unification to happen any time soon, but if it does ever happen, South Koreans will have access to the rest of Asia via train. Until that happens, South Koreans will have to use airplanes and boats to travel to China, Russia, and other neighboring countries.

Our DMZ tour dropped us off at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. From there, we took the subway to meet Bori at her office. Our restaurant for dinner was nearby Bori's work, so we had a short walk to get there. As we walked to the restaurant, we walked by so many restaurants and we noticed that a lot of them are fried chicken restaurants. We didn't have a chance to try fried chicken, but I'm sure it's pretty good. Bori took us to a Korean bbq place, and it was very tasted so good. The best part was the grilled pork belly. It was fatty goodness. : )

Travel To Seoul

Alexis and I had a few hours this morning before our flight, so we picked up some breakfast at a nearby café, and then we walked over to the Takashimaya building across the train tracks. Inside the Takashimaya building is the Takashimaya store and a store called Tokyu Hands. Takashimaya is a high end department store that sells luxury goods from clothes to food. Tokyu Hands is a department store that sells normal day to day goods. Alexis and I went to the store primarily to look at the stationery and kitchen departments. The kitchen department had all sorts of cool stuff including a lot of bento containers, a rice washer, siphon coffee makers, etc. I considered purchasing a siphon coffee maker, but I think it would have been too hard to bring it back to the United States. After Tokyu Hands, we went over to Takashimaya. We were short on time at this point, so we only looked at the handbag floor and the food floor in the basement. The food floor in the basement was full of high end food, and it looked so tasty. They even had an outlet that sold food from Kikunoi, the kaiseki restaurant we enjoyed in Kyoto. We wished we could have stayed longer, but it was time to head to South Korea.

We went back to the hotel and picked up our bags. Initially, we wanted to take the limousine bus from our hotel to Haneda airport, but the times were not convenient, so we decided to take the subway. We only had to take 1 subway train and a monorail to get to the airport, but it's a little difficult when you're carrying over 130 pounds of luggage up and down stairs. Fortunately, the subway was not crowded, and we made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Our flight to Seoul was on ANA, and we had a bit of a scare when we checked in because the airline told us that our tickets were cancelled. For some reason, ANA did in fact cancel our tickets, but the ANA representative helping us could not find our new ticket numbers. We waited at the counter for about 10 minutes, and she was able to clear up our issue.

Haneda airport is much smaller than Narita, but it is much more convenient. It's much closer to Tokyo, and it's a lot faster to get through security. In addition, it only has one food court in the International terminal. We went to the food court to enjoy our last meal in Japan. Alexis had a katsudon, I had curry, and we also had sides of chicken karaage and takoyaki. After lunch, we did some duty free shopping before we headed over to our gate.

This was my first flight on ANA, and overall the flight experience was nice. Even though the flight was only 2 hours, they served a meal on the plane. However, the meal was quite odd. The entree was rice with a side of fish and small shrimp covered in a thick cheese-like sauce, a tiny container of soba, a side salad, and a custard. The entrée had a unique taste to it, and it did not pair well with the soba and the rest of the food. The custard was by far the best part of the meal.

Our flight to Seoul was very smooth, and our friend Bori met us at the airport. She navigated us through the subway system, and we reached her apartment in about 30 minutes. After dropping our stuff off at her place, we walked to a restaurant very close to her apartment. Bori ordered for us, and the food was served immediately. The meal was served with rice, tons of the Korean side dishes, fish, tofu dish, miso soup dish. The server brought our food on a large piece of wood that matched the table. Instead of placing all of the food onto our table, the server slid the entire piece of wood onto our table. It was an interesting and efficient way of transferring the food to us. I enjoyed this meal because it was tasty, and there were so many different things to enjoy.

After dinner, we walked back to Bori's apartment. We talked some more and went to sleep early because we had to wake up at 6AM the following morning.

Last Dinner in Tokyo - Shabu Shabu Ichie

For last dinner in Japan, Alexis and I went to a Shabu Shabu place in Roppongi. We sat down at the counter, and the waitress brought us a menu. The menu was full of kanji characters, so I couldn't read the majority of the menu. Alexis asked if they had an English menu, and they didn't have that either. As a result, I asked the waitress to come over and read the menu to me. After listening to her read the menu, we ordered the Okinawa style shabu shabu. It came with two different types of thinly sliced pork. I think it was pork loin and pork belly. The nabe we ordered was a standard dashi broth with lots of scallions. Alexis isn't a big fan of onions, so we ordered yasai moriawase (mixed vegetables) to add to the nabe. It was very tasty, and it was a nice way to end the Japan portion of our trip because nabe is one of our favorite foods.

Hands on Tokyo

After our break, we took the subway to Roppongi, and had a lot of difficulty finding Hands on Tokyo, our destination. I stared at a map for a good 10 minutes, and I could not figure out how to get there. Since Roppongi is full of expats, I decided to ask the next hakujin guy we came across for directions. We found a guy pretty quickly, and he was very nice. He looked at our map which he found confusing as well, and he helped us find Hands on Tokyo. Hands on Tokyo is a volunteer organization comprised of both Japanese and foreign nationals who are committed to making volunteer activities more accessible and committed to accelerating the growth of volunteerism in the Tokyo area. We participated in the 3R Project. 3R stands for reduce, reuse, and recycle. Hands on Tokyo receives used hotel toiletries from first-class hotels (e.g. The Peninsula, Ritz-Carlton), and provides the toiletries to people in need. This volunteer event had us empty shampoo bottles into 1.5 liter water bottles that would be provided to women's shelters and school children. Over the course of 2 hours, we emptied hundreds of shampoo bottles into the 1.5 liter bottles. Alexis and I were able to fill 2 1.5 liter bottles each. The head volunteer asked us to make sure that we got every last bit of shampoo out of every bottles, so we had to squeeze the bottle until no shampoo was left over. By the time we were done, our thumbs were sore. In addition, Alexis and I donated 100 toothbrushes and other hotel toiletries we collected from our hotels stays in Japan. The organization was very appreciative for assisting them with the project and our donation. We wish we could have done more during our trip, but we were happy we were able to make a small difference while we were here.

Tsukiji, Ginza, and Shibuya

It's our last full day in Tokyo, so we wanted to make the most of it. Going to the Tsukiji Fish Market was always on the top of the list of things we wanted to do here in Tokyo, but after the earthquake last month, the tuna auction was temporarily closed to the public. So, the good news is that I did not have to be at Tsukiji at 4AM in the morning, but the bad news is that we were not able to see the auction take place. We took the subway over to Tsukiji in the morning, and arrived a little after 9AM to walk through the wholesale area. It seems like they sell every type of seafood imaginable, and some of it is still alive. Most people in this area are vendors and wholesale buyers, but there are a few tourists. It's very busy with people running in and out of the area, and there are also a number of carts being driven around to pick up and transport the seafood. The people working at the market likely see tourists as more of a nuisance, but I'm glad we went because it's an interesting sight. After walking around a bit, we stopped off at a nearby sushi restaurant where we ate sushi for breakfast. Alexis and I shared a sushi plate. It was delicious!

Our next stop is Ginza. For those of you familiar with Japan, Ginza is home to many high end stores. However, that is not why we went to Ginza. While researching Japan, Alexis found a store called Itoya which is like Maido or Papersource in the United States. The store is about 7-8 floors dedicated to selling these types of products, so it is huge and a bit overwhelming. After a bit of shopping inside, we went back to our hotel to drop off our things. As we left the store, Alexis mentioned that she could spend an entire day inside.

Our next stop was Shibuya. Shibuya is home to a number of stores that sell trendy clothing and many younger Japanese people do their shopping here. We saw many girls all dolled up with their 4 inch heels, fake eyelashes, and unique clothing walking around. It must take them well over an hour to get ready everyday. We were hungry, so our first order of business was to find a place to eat. I found a standing restaurant where you purchase food from a machine that spits out tickets. Alexis ordered the katsudon and udon set, and I ordered the curry and soba set. We gave the tickets to the workers inside, and within 2 minutes our food came out. Up until this meal, the food portions at the restaurants were always very small. At this place, the restaurant gave full portions that you would expect to see in the United States. As a result, Alexis and I got 4 full size bowls of food for lunch for just about $17. Alexis couldn't even finish her katsudon, so I got to eat her bowl of udon in addition to my soba and curry. : ) Once we were done with lunch, we searched for Hachiko statue. We took pictures in front of the statue and of the mural nearby. After seeing Hachiko we went into Shibuya 109 which is a mall that sells trendy women's clothing. It's another massive building with eight floors of stores, and each different store is blasting different music. We were already kind of tired at this point, so we left after only a few minutes and went to Starbucks. At Starbucks, we got coffee and sat down on the second floor where we were able to people watch and see the crowds of people walking through the main intersection down below. One interesting thing about Starbucks is that they only had the tall size for sale. I don't know if this is only the case for the Starbucks that we went to or if Starbucks only sells one size in all of its stores in Japan. As a result, I think it will be a while before they introduce the Trenta size in Japan. When we're tired, we usually rest in our hotel room, but we had to be in Roppongi, so we took our break at Starbucks.

Asakusa and Akihabara

We got a little bit of a later start today because I spent the morning doing laundry in the hotel laundromat. We walked over to a Scandinavian cafe to pick up pastries to eat for breakfast. Then we took the subway over to Asakusa. We got there in a very round about way because we had a little bit of difficulty navigating the subway. Once we reached Asakusa station, we stopped by a cafe for coffee. Japanese coffee is pretty good. We haven't had a bad cup since we've been here.

After our coffee, we walked over to Nakamise-Dori and we shopped in this area for a couple of hours. We also had to go find a store called Eri No Takasa-goya for Alexis odori clothes. After asking a few people for directions, we managed to find the place to purchase the odori clothes. After looking at some more shops, we walked over to Sensoji Temple to walk around. We started to get hungry, so we started to look for a place on our way to Akihabara, our next destination. We stopped off at a random restaurant, and we ate their lunch set menu. Alexis had curry and udon, and I had sukiyaki and udon. It was pretty tasty, and I was starving so anything would have tasted good at this point.

We walked around Akihabara and window shopped through all of the stores. It seems like they have electronic devices for everything. I took a close look at their rice cookers, and I found one that costs approximately $900. I didn't try to figure out what it could do, but I hope it washes the rice too. While in Akihabara, we spotted a Uniqlo, so we shopped in there for a few minutes before heading back to Shinjuku.

Kamakura

Our JR Rail Pass expires today, so Alexis and I decided to maximize the use of it by taking a side trip to Kamakura. We had an early train, so we woke up early and picked up breakfast at Cafe Veloce. I had a chocolate croissant and a cafe au lait, and Alexis had a German sausage and au lait. We went to Shinjuku station in the middle of rush hour, so it was very crowded. Our train was on time, and it was pretty full. We packed it in, and we had to stand for about 15 minutes before seats began to free up.

We reached Kamakura around 9:30, and we took a wrong turn leaving the station. We walked up Wakamiya-Dori towards the Prefectural Modern Art Gallery and the National Treasure House Museum. It was a nice walk and we quickly knew we were going the wrong direction, but we decided to keep going because the walk was lined with cherry blossoms and the facades of the museums looked nice from far away. We took a number of photos of the museums and headed back down Wakamiya-Dori to find the Daibutsu, The Great Buddha. Unfortunately, we did not find the street where we were supposed to turn right, so we walked all the way to Yuigahama Beach. Finding the street to turn onto was very frustrating, but we found our way to the Daibutsu after asking a few locals for directions. Once we reached the Daibutsu, we took a bunch of pictures, and then headed back to the train station via bus for lunch/snack.

We walked up a main shopping alley near the train station and did a little bit of shopping. We were quite hungry, so we picked up a snack. We had a piroshki from a piroshki stand, and a chocolate and banana crepe. Not very Japanese, but they were very tasty. After some more shopping, we went back to Kamakura station, and took the train back to Shinjuku. Since we only shared a piroshki and a crepe, we got hungry again and picked up ekiben from Shinjuku station and ate it back in our room. Because of all of the walking we did in Kamakura, we were pretty exhausted.

We rested for a little bit in our room before heading out for drinks at the Park Hyatt. I contacted a colleague from my firm to see if he wanted to have drinks, so Alexis and I met with him and his wife for drinks at New York Bar, the bar at the top of the Park Hyatt. The New York Bar is on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt, and has great views of the Tokyo skyline. It is also well known for being one of the filming locations in Lost in Translation. Alexis and I had a nice time chatting with my colleague and his wife, and then Alexis and I went out to dinner in Shinjuku.

There are many restaurants near our hotel, but we decided to look at some of the restaurants on the west side of the station. We settled on a yakitori place called Toritetsu Yakitori. It was filled with cigarette smoke, and it was a bit overwhelming. I ordered a bunch of chicken skewers, salad, spicy french fries, shishito peppers, spicy chicken karaage, and raw chicken. The raw chicken was interesting. I ate about 1/3 of the raw chicken, and that was enough for me (I hope I don't get sick). Overall, I thought the food was pretty good, but there was too much cigarette smoke, so we tried to eat and get out their asap.

Many of you know about my infamous story about flatulence in a Tokyo elevator. Well, today it was like deja vu. At our hotel, a hotel guest came out of one of the elevators. Alexis rushed to get the elevator before it closed. Then as the elevator doors closed, we realized that the guest passed gas before we got on. Alexis and I couldn't breathe until we reached the 13th floor. The guest left a horrible smell in our elevator. There must be something in the food here. : )

Earthquakes

Many of you are probably wondering what it's like in Japan right now. Tourism is down, but Tokyo seems like business as usual. Shinjuku is like Times Square on steroids with all of its hustle and bustle. People are out and about shopping and eating at restaurants. It's almost like nothing happened last month unless you turn on the news or have to deal with a rolling blackout. One thing that cannot be avoided, however, is the aftershocks. Alexis and I have felt at least 3 since we've been here. We felt the first one when we were on our way to Hakone. We felt a second one last night as we watched a street performer, and then Alexis felt a third one while sleeping last night. Some people have software on their cell phone or subscribe to a service where their cell phone has a special ring whenever there's an earthquake. Although Japan has a long road to recovery, people are doing what they can to move forward. Hopefully, tourists begin visiting again soon because the economy could use the help

Tokyo - First Day

After our filling breakfast, we checked out of our very nice ryokan, and traveled to Shinjuku station in Tokyo. In total, we had to make 3 train changes to get to our destination at Shinjuku. We got to Shinjuku Plaza Hotel, our hotel, around 11:30 AM and dropped off our bags. We had some free time, so we took the JR-Yamanote line to Harajuku to go shopping and view the people dressed up in interesting clothing. While walking around, we wanted to eat lunch, so we stopped off at Ishigama Ramen Denden. This is a restaurant that specializes in ramen served in stone bowls. I ordered a miso ramen and Alexis ordered gyoza with rice. When my ramen came out, my stone bowl was bubbling, and the stone was ridiculously hot. The server also provided an empty bowl to place your noodles and soup so that they cool down faster. Overall, it was a decent bowl of ramen. I personally think the stone bowl is more gimmick than anything else. After lunch, we walked around harajuku, and then we went back to the hotel.

At our hotel, we checked-in, I changed clothes, and we went downstairs to meet Mieko and Masako, two of Alexis' relatives that live in Japan. It was a short meeting, but it was nice to meet some of her relatives here. After Mieko and Masako left, Alexis and I rested before taking the train up to Ikebukuro to go to a cat café. Alexis and I were introduced to the concept of cat cafes when we saw them featured on Samantha Brown Asia - Japan episode. The closest cat café I was able to find was one in Ikebukuro called Nekorobi Cat Café. Nekorobi has a total of 12 cats, some of them being rescues. Most of the cats were sleeping while many of the customers pet them and took pictures of them. This café also had free internet, Nintendo Wii, and some free snacks and beverages. We visited for about an hour, and then we did a little bit of shopping before dinner.

Alexis wanted to try some non-Japanese food, so we went to an Italian restaurant called Pasta Del Sol in Ikebukuro. We ordered a caesar salad, margarita pizza, and a pomodoro pasta. The portions were on the smaller side, but they did a pretty good job preparing the food. The pasta was a perfect al dente, and it had some nice flavor.

Tokinoyu Setsugetsuka - Breakfast

Breakfast was also included in our room rate at our ryokan. We had a traditional Japanese breakfast. It was very tasty, and very filling. I ate everything, and I got a case of food coma. I don't think I have ever had food coma this early in the morning.

Breakfast (Salad, yogurt, grapefruit juice, tamagoyaki, hijiki, natto, aji fish, salmon)

Ochazuke, tamago (soft boiled for tamago gohan), and bowls for rice and misoshiru

Misoshiru cooking in a hot pot

Tokinoyu Setsugetsuka - Dinner

Alexis and I ate dinner at Tokinoyu Setsugetsuka, our ryokan, this evening. The dinner was included in our room rate, and the food was worth it. My favorites included the sashimi plate and buta no kakuni. Pictures of our meal follow below.

Appetizer

Osuimono

Sashimi plate (Tai, ika, toro)

Tofu and Konyakku Dengaku

Buta no kakuni

Nabe (Tai, fish balls, nappa cabbage, spinach, enoki, Tokyo negi)

Ochazuke

Dessert

Hakone

We got a late start this morning. We packed our things, ate breakfast, and rushed to the train station to catch our train to Hakone. We made it with about 5 minutes to spare, and we got on the first train to Hakone. We transferred lines at Odawara station, and got on a train to Hakone Yumoto, then transferred again onto another train to Gora station. Once we got off the final train, I recognized Tokinoyu Setsugetsuka, our ryokan, from the pictures on the Internet. It's literally a 1-2 minute walk from the Gora station. We were too early to check in, so we dropped off our bags and ate ramen across the street from the ryokan. From there, we went back to the train station to do some site seeing.

We purchased the Hakone free pass (unfortunately, it wasn't free) which gave us full access to Hakone's busses, trains, ropeways, cable cars, and boats. We got on the cable car from Gora, then got on the ropeway. While on the ropeway, we were able to see Mount Fuji. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so it was not a perfect view (see picture to the right). We road on the ropeway until we reached Lake Ashi, and then hopped on a boat to Hakone Machi. The boat resembled a pirate ship and the crew dressed similar to how you would expect people on a pirate ship to dress in a Disney movie. Once we reached Hakone Machi, we walked around, grabbed some coffee, and then got on a bus and train back to Gora.

It was past 4PM, so we were able to check into our ryokan. After checking in, Alexis and I picked out yukata to wear later that evening. Our room is very interesting compared to all other hotels I've stayed at. For instance, our hotel room door is a sliding door, and not a door that swings back and forth. In addition, our bath and shower is outside on the balcony. Although there are some things that make this room unique, this hotel is very nice. They have great service, and the amenities are very nice. As I just mentioned, they have private baths on all balconies, and they have separate mens and womens onsens, and they have private onsens for people to use. Alexis and I changed into yukata, and relaxed in one of the private onsens this afternoon. It was very relaxing.

Tonkatsu Wako

Alexis really wanted to eat tonkatsu in Japan, so we found a restaurant called Tonkatsu Wako. It's near the Fujino Restaurant we ate at earlier in the day. It was crowded, but we were able to grab two counter seats without having to wait. Like other tonkatsu restaurants, they sold standard tonkatsu using different pieces of pork, but they also sold ebi-fry, tonkatsu with cheese, and tonkatsu-asparagus, and fried fish. Alexis and I ordered one of the tonkatsu set menus. The set menu included tonkatsu, cabbage, rice, misoshiru, and tsukemono. When they brought out the food, they informed us that we can have helpings on cabbage, rice, and misoshiru. The tonkatsu was nice and thick (unlike restaurants in the US) and fatty, but not too fatty. It also had a great crunch to it with what seemed to be an extra layer of panko. On the table, the restaurants provided two different tonkatsu sauces, Japanese mustard, and salad dressing. The food was really tasty, and I got an extra helping of cabbage, but not the rice or misoshiru.