Dec 2011 in Japan: Enoshima.

The beach in the foreground. Enoshima in the distance. We can see the Enoshima Observation Lighthouse perched on the island too.

"Enoshima is a small island at the mouth of the Katase-gawa River that flows into Sagami Bay. The island is approximately four kilometers, and it is linked with the opposite shore of Katase by the 600-meter-long Enoshima-ohashi Bridge." Source: Japan National Tourism Organisation.

Taken from the Katase end of the Enoshima-ohashi Bridge. See the Lighthouse?

The beach on mainland. During summer, it would be packed with people.

The start of an upward journey.

Halfway up, you could pay to take the escalator. Yes, it is not free. I didn't bother with the escalator.

A shot I took of the yacht harbor as I continued the climb.

Entrance to the Tropical Botanical Garden. Buy your entry tickets here.

Inside the garden: A Chinese style pavilion and the Lighthouse in the background.

Enoshima Observation Lighthouse up close. That's my hand holding up a brochure and the entry ticket.

An avenue of trees in the garden.

Many roses in the garden.

The French Toast here is to die for! Make sure you stop here for some.

French toast! Delectable. What's all the stuff on top? See the next photo.

This was what I had!

Lon Cafe's entrance.

Enoshima-ohashi Bridge connecting Enoshima to Katase on the mainland. See the beaches of grey sand on either side of the bridge?

Rice crackers made with whitebait! Remember to get some if you see it. Bring some back. It is simply delicious! I got some as I was leaving the island.

Now, how do we get to Enoshima from Tokyo? Take the JR Yokosuka Line to Kamakura. Then, take the Enoden Line to Enoshima Station.

On board the Enoden Line.

Enoshima Station.

The train I took.

Kawaii! Enjoy Enoshima!

Dec 2011 in Japan: Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku.

I stayed in a pretty well located hotel in Shinjuku. I booked 3 months in advance and got a pretty good price from ZUJI. I also stayed for 6 nights or more and got a 30% discount.

Take the Airport Limousine to the hotel from Narita Airport for JPY3,000 per person.

Airport Limousine ticketing counter at Narita Airport.

My ticket.

My "limousine".

Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku.

Room. Photo 1.

Room. Photo 2.

The bathroom.

Vending machines on every floor.

Hotel Lobby.

Outside the hotel on ground level. The entrance is on the left while the floor to ceiling glass windows belong to a restaurant.

Diagonally across the road to the left of the hotel is Family Mart (a convenience store) while diagonally across the road to the right is a post office.

From the hotel, turn right and on the same side as the hotel is an entrance to the subway.

Turn left from the hotel entrance is a one minute walk to a 24 hour McDonalds outlet

The window seats on the second floor are not bad.

and a couple more minutes of walking would bring us to a busy crossroad where we would see First Kitchen (with a gigantic clock on the building's facade), Lumine and MyLord.

First Kitchen serves relatively inexpensive fast food.

Diagonally across the traffic junction would be Lumine and MyLord (with a star on the building's facade).

This shot was taken from ground level outside First Kitchen. These shops are diagonally across the road from First Kitchen. Just beyond the left border of this photo would find my favourite pharmacy, Daikoku. ;)

This shot was taken from where I was seated in First Kitchen on the second floor.

A hot meal in First Kitchen.

Across the road from the hotel, a few flights of steps up would bring us to a bridge above the busy tracks of Shinjuku JR lines. On the far side is Times Square where we would find Tokyu Hands and Takashimaya. We would find Krispy Kreme, a very popular donut place on the near side.

This shot was taken from my hotel room. It shows the flights of steps we climbed to get to a platform before climbing yet a couple more flights further in. (See the post office with its orange signboards on the ground floor facing the road?)

The first thing we would see once we are done climbing: Krispy Kreme. At night would find a long queue snaking outside the establishment. An amazing sight!

Early morning photo.

Another early morning photo.

Krispy Kreme and its nightly queues.

All lit up for Christmas.

A really convenient and comfortable hotel. Book early to get better prices.

Dec 2011 in Japan: Hakone.

We made a day trip to Hakone. As recommended by my friend, we bought Hakone Freepass round trip tickets from Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd. It cost JPY5,000 per adult (from Shinjuku). This is really good value for money as you will soon find out.

The counter at Odakyu in Shinjuku.

My tickets. Both tickets had to be inserted at the same time at the turnstile gate.

It got us on a Limited Express train that took about 85 minutes to get from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto station. Buy your tickets a couple of days in advance to get good seats.

Limited Express. Try to book seats on the first train out of the station.

Then, we took the Hakone Tozan Train, stopping to visit an onsen and to see Fujiya Hotel, the oldest hotel in Japan.

108m above sea level.

Hakone Tozan Train.



Their Majesties visited Hakone in 2009, I was informed.

An onsen in the wilderness.

Beyond this point, no photos were allowed.

Recognise these famous personalities? They stayed in Fujiya Hotel in 1978.

We went on to take the Hakone Tozan Cablecar which reminded me of the Peak Tram in Hong Kong.

At 553m, Gora is the lowest cablecar station.

Hakone Tozan Cablecar.

The highest point the cablecar could go to. 761m above sea level.

Then, we took the Hakone Ropeway. We would call this "cablecar" in Singapore. It is quite unique as the cars are suspended on two ropes instead of one. Even so, they swayed a bit because of the strong winds.

Hakone Ropeway.

Photo taken from my "cablecar".

Reached the top at Owakudani. 1044m above sea level.

We were blessed to have relatively clear skies and could see Mount Fuji in the distance. My camera's zoom function was not working properly and I could not take a close up shot but it was majestic.

Shy Mount Fuji in the distance playing hide and seek.

At Owakudani, climbing up the sides of an active volcano to see and, inadvertently, smell the sulphur hot springs was an experience. We had to suffer really strong wind chill. Brrrr... Then, we saw people trying the eggs cooked in the sulphur springs. They called them "Black Eggs", for obvious reason.

Owakudani, 1050m above sea level.

Steaming hot springs everywhere.

Many bought Black Eggs here.

Weird looking egg, don't you agree?

People could choose to buy only one egg instead of five in a shop at the ropeway terminal instead of the peak.

Then, take the Hakone Ropeway to Lake Ashi. From there, take a leisurely cruise to Hakone Machi-Ko or Moto Hakone-Ko. Then, take the Tozan bus back to Hakone Yumoto station.

Took the ropeway again, this time from Owakudani to Togendai on Lake Ashi.

This was the ship we took as the sun was setting.

Beautiful Lake Ashi, a caldera lake.

Got off here.

Ship docked as the sun was setting in the background.

Took the same Limited Express from Hakone Yumoto back to Shinjuku. It was a happy day trip.

All the different modes of transportation described here for JPY5,000 per person! Enjoy!