I guess this post shall be filled with many more photos than words relative to to the previous ones because the photos are just too pretty!
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| Breakfast: strawberry sponge cake which was quite nice! |
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| The sky is so blue! |
We took a bus which took 1 hour 45 minute to bring us to the bus station near on of the lakes surrounding Mount Fuji. Okay so basically there are 5 lakes surrounding Mt Fuji - Lake Kawaguchiko, Saiko, Motosu, Saiko and Yamanaka. There are hotels and tourist attractions at each lake. We went to Lake Kawaguchiko, the biggest or second largest lake.
This is our first sight of Mt Fuji from the bus!
The geographer in me can't help but identify the windward and leeward side! Haha, I mean look at just how obvious and clearly depicted it is in the pictures above! I felt really proud and happy to see this because it's a direct application of what I learn okay. HAHA.
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| Kawaguchiko bus station |
We had our lunch here at this bus station while waiting for the hotel bus to fetch us.
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| The order sheets. |
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| Vegetable Udon |
Haha check out this curry rice - the rice is shaped like Mt Fuji! So cute heh.
Then we had a look at the souvenir store and these are some of the snacks sold.
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| Lovely handicrafts |
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| On the bus to our hotel! |
Upon reaching the hotel, we were so elated to find out that this is the view from the hotel lobby!
My brother can jump so high... He wanted to capture a shot that shows Fuji below him haha. We were all so excited that we spent almost half an hour taking photos before we even put our things down in our hotel room LOL.
And this is our traditional tatami hotel room!
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| The awesome view from our room! |
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| The seat cushions in the cupboard |
Since the weather was sooo fine with clear skies with NO CLOUDS at all, we quickly went to take a walk by the lake and snap as many beautiful shots of the mountain as we could!
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| Hahaha, selfie with Mt Fuji! |
Oh my goodness, there are definitely many more photos that we took and these are just the few of the many super nice photos!! Ahhh really really love the scenery!
There was also an onsen (hot spring) at our hotel so we also went for it haha. It's my first time going for it and we were all quite shy since we really have to be naked, no undergarments or swimwear haha. And we were a bit lost with regards to the procedure, like what you wear there, when to shower etc. But we just went ahead gamely because there's always a first time!
The above for guys and the bottom for girls.
And the photos stop here. HAHA after the above photo it was the changing room already. We were so lucky to be the only ones there! We were there at 4.30/5? Yeap it's a good thing we were alone cos nobody can laugh at our noobness and it's also more comfortable to be with your family members than strangers LOL.
First we had to wash ourselves and take a shower, with the shampoo, body soap and conditioner provided. This is to make sure you're clean before entering the hot spring, which is supposed to be spring water (form the mountains etc) that shouldn't be contaminated. And then you enter the hot spring! Hahaha it was really hot at first! I was half laughing and half exclaiming because the water was so hot! But then because you were cold before entering so you kinda quickly got used to the hot temperature. And boy, it sure felt good! After about one minute I thought the hot water was really very therapeutic and shiok!! Words can't describe that feeling - it's like so calming and you feel so relaxed! Haha I felt like I could stay there for a long long time (also because my body got used to the temperature) but I heard it's not good to stay there for too long because your blood circulation may be affected or something.
There was an indoor pool and an outdoor pool. Actually the pools are very small; they can fit only around 6 or 7 people comfortably? But it's acceptable given that the hotel isn't very big. We first went to the indoor one then after a while I decided to open the door and go out to the outdoor one. Haha it felt hotter and so it was more shiok!! A pity there was no view because there were barriers (of course for our safety) and the mountain wasn't tall enough for us to see it where we were situated. But the guys are so lucky! Because theirs is at a higher level, and there're less barriers blocking their view, they had a super scenic view of Mt Fuji! :( It's quite unfair but there's nothing we can do about it heh.
We didn't soak in there for too long, I think it was only 15-20 minutes? So we got out and showered again then returned to the hotel room with our faces mostly red and feeling all warm inside hehe.
Dinner time soon arrived. Here at this hotel, breakfast and dinner are provided. We heard that the dinner was going to be like the traditional Japanese style with authentic Japanese food so we were all very excited for it! The air of anticipation... Get ready to be blown away by the pictures below!!
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| The dining room |
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| The presentation on our table when we arrived |
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| The paper is so pretty! |
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And of course, I started snapping away hoho. Most of the time I didn't know what the food in front of me was haha but I just snapped anyway. xD
Check out this SASHIMI PLATTER! This is for 3 people to share. There was another plate for the other 2 people. Omg I was sooo in disbelief when I saw all the sashimi! And lobster meat too!!
Needless to say, the raw food all tasted very fresh and I loveee it!
The above two are pork collar bones I think. Also very tender!
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| Chawanmushi |
Finally, the desserts!
Initially I thought our dinner was just whatever that was presented on our table when we arrived. I didn't know that plate was only the appetiser! Then the waiter started serving more dishes and I spotted the menu on the table. When I read it all I could think was 'oh-my-gawd'.
The dinner was absolutely satisfying - no wait, it totally exceeded our expectations! Haha it was so exquisite we know we would never eat this back in Singapore. I mean, such a meal could easily cost more than a hundred per pax in Singapore! I'm so happy and lucky to be able to try such good food! :D
This was the weather forecast for the next day.
When we went back to our rooms, the beds have already been made for us! They look so cosy and inviting haha.
That's all for day four! (:
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