Time flies. In a blink, a year has elapsed since last December when we had to abort our plan for a family tour to Tokyo due to various unforeseen circumstances.
My three children were all available in late December: Cheng Kai was allotted bloc leave from National Service from 25 Dec 2016 to 1 Jan 2017. Cheng Jie had just completed his A Level Examination, and Cheng Yee was back from Melbourne for a short break before starting her employment in 2nd week of Jan, 2017. We decided to embark on our previously unaccomplished journey to Tokyo this time round!
Four of us (CY, CJ, my wife and I ) departed earlier on 21 Dec, whilst CK would join us on 26 Dec.
The following was our itinerary:
Tokyo Trip
21 Dec (Wed): Arrive Narita Airport @ 8am à3 Hà Nikko 日光/ Kinugawa鬼怒川
鬼怒川观景航线泛舟（40分钟）, boarding jetty behind 金谷酒店 (0900，0935，1010，1045，1155，1250，1325，1400，1435，1510， 1545) Tel: ０２８８−７７−０５３１
Ryuo-kyo
龙王峡 Tel:81
288-76-4111 (风景区，值得走, 15 min from rafting station)
Check into Hotel @
2pm (Nikko Tokanso 日光东观庄) Phone: +81288540611
Japanese style
room 57,000 Yen for 2 nights (half board)
22 Dec (Thur): Nikko (14-10’C, cloudy)
Temple tour 二社一寺 (东照宫，二荒山神社，轮王寺), 神桥 (预留4-5小时)
Stay at Nikko
Tokanso
23 Dec (Fri): Nikko à 2 H àIkaho Onsen
Village 伊香保
Nature tour at Nikko (日光市街—伊吕波坂 Irohazaka Winding Road —明智平 Akechidaira Ropeway（展望台，缆车索道）--Lake Chuzenji (中禅寺湖)， Kegon Falls(华严瀑布), Ryuzu Falls (龙头瀑布), then drive to
Ikaho Onsen (伊香保 – 石段街 Stone stairs) and stay at Ikaho 伊香保
Drive
2 H to 草津 (Kusatsu), visiting 热乃汤 & 汤細
草津： 热乃汤（汤揉及舞蹈表演）0930， 1000，1030，1530，1600，1630 (20 分钟) tel:0279-88-3613; Nearby 汤細（温泉源头）(hotspring source Yubatak,
with its gushing steaming waters).
Hashimoto
Hotel @ Ikaho Phone: +81279722035；Tatami Rooms x 2, 32,400 Yen (no meals)
24 Dec (Sat): From Ikaho à 2 H à Tokyo overnight (Phone: +81358062111)
Tour Tokyo Tower.”one
piece shop”, then , shibuya traffic junction.
APA Hotel Asakusa Kuramae (small double rooms x2, 59,000Yen, no breakfast)
25 Dec (Sun): Tokyo city tour, stay at APA Hotel
Asakusa Kurame
浅草 Asakusa) 浅草寺，晴空塔; 筑地鱼市场，Harajuku 原宿-竹下通，年轻人街道）, 新宿 (东京都厅第一厅舍45楼展望兆望台夜景)
26 Dec (Mon): Pick up CK at 9-10 am from Narita Airport.
Drive to Hakone (2.5 H).
Hakone
tour (whole day).
箱根登山铁道 （箱根汤本—>强罗）- 登山铁车（强罗—>早云山）- 索道线 Hakone ropeway（早云山-大涌谷 Owakudani（走走）-桃园台
Overnight
at Hakone @ Hakone Gora Kanon Phone: +815031717557
(half board)
27 Dec (Tue): Hakone à 1.5 H àFuji mountain lakes overnight
Hakone full day
tour.
Yuessun
Resort (Coffee, wine etc flavoured Onsen)
箱根八里之七曲旧街道，石台 à蘆之湖 Lake Ashi /元箱根 (箱根神社/平和鸟居Hakone Shrine，Onshihakone Park and adjacent箱根御関所(view from outside))
Then drive to Fuji
lakes. Overnight at Highland Resort and Spa (Phone: +81555221000)
One
night, 2 rooms (55,350Y) (no meals)
28 Dec (Wed): Fuji Q Highland theme park, then overnight
at Fujikawaguchiko
Overnight @ Fuji Premium
Resort +81 555 73
1168
One room, 4 guests
(added bed). 38,880 y (include breakfast) (add 3240/extra bed, 2000/BF)
29 Dec (Thur): Fujikawaguchiko à 2 H à Matsumoto castle à1.5hà Nagoya à1 h àYamanouchi
Overnight around
Yamanouchi @ Ryuo Park Hotel (include breakfast)
30 Dec (Fri): Yamanouchi
Whole
day skiing (can include night skiing) ，Stay at Ryuo Park Hotel
(include Breakfast)
31 Dec (Sat): Yamanouchi (-5 to -11’C)à3.5 H à Tokyo à 1 H à Near Narita
Visit
snow monkey (walking trail of 30 minutes from entrance to the park), then depart to Narita
Tour
Hotel Shin Makomo Phone: +81299632220 (14.662 Y) (no meals) +2,000 for one add
person
1 Jan (Sun): Depart Narita @ 9.30 am
Day 1: Arrive at Narita Airport. Drive to Kinugawa 鬼怒川。
We boarded Scoot budget airline at 10pm, made 1 hour transit in Bangkok at 12.30 am, and reached Narita International Airport 8a.m.. The arrival hall only received two incoming flights then, and we managed to clear the custom/immigration quite fast. Met up with the Time Car Rental personnel at the airport counter; and pick up our car from the rental kiosk located 10-15 minutes' drive away. The entire process was hassles free. The only disappointment was the rental company did not provide ETC card (which could have saved us a lot of toll fees).
The drive from Narita Airport to Nikko took us 3 hours. The expressway skirted around Tokyo (we could see Skytree from afar). We took our first ramen at one of the rest stations in the expressway.
We wanted to take a river cruise on raft in Kinugawa 鬼怒川. But alas, it was closed during winter (from Dec onward). Reluctantly, we drove to Ryuo-kyo 龙王峡, for a scenic walk in the nature park.
古龙小说笔下的情景：枯树，落叶，小桥，流水，乱石，瀑布。。。寒意，沧桑。。。历历在目，只差流星，蝴蝶，剑！
I bet it would be more captivating during autumn!
It was already dark by 5pm. We checked into our hotel @ Nikko Tokanso 日光东观庄 for our dinner/overnight stay. Took our dinner and first onsen there.
Day 2: Visit shrines and temples of Nikko (UNESCO World Heritage Sites): Two Shinto shrines (The Toshogu and The Futarasan-jinja) and one Buddhist temple (The Rinno-ji)。 二社一寺（东照宫，轮王寺，二荒山神社）
The ryokan we stayed in was very close to the religious world heritage sites. After breakfast, we visited 日光山轮王寺宝物殿 (Rinno-ji), which was just a mere 5 minutes walk away from our hotel.
The temple was under major renovation. Nevertheless, part of the building was open for viewing. In fact, we could view the renovation work in progress inside the building at 4th and 7th floor respectively. The extra care and vigils taken by the authorities and relevant workers in preserving the ancient heritage were truly amazing.
We could still view the three statues of Buddha in the Three Buddha Hall.
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| How the temple should look like if not under renovation |
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| View from the window |
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| Words of blessing written on the wood panels |
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| Renovation of the roof top |
We then moved on to the next shrine, Tosho-gu 东照宫, a 17th-century shrine complex honoring the first shogun and featuring unique and colourful buildings / art. The shrine, built in 1617, is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu 德川家康， the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
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| Steps leading to the shrine |
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| Husband and wife trees |
Parents and Child trees
The last temple we visited was Taiyu-in Temple 轮王寺大猷院。 It is actually the mausoleum of the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, the grandson of Ieyasu. It features a mix of Buddhist and Shinto structures.
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| Drum tower 鼓楼 |
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| Belfry 钟楼 |
After visiting the shrines and temple, we walked down the slope to the foothill, looking for the Shinkyo 神桥 (red wooden arched bridge). It looked quite run down from afar. But in combination with running river below and surrounding landscape, the view would inevitably inspire a sense of awe! No wonder it was one of the three most charming bridges in Japan!
The entire walking tour of the World Heritage Sights took us about 4 hours. We returned to our hotel and drove out for lunch, followed by a snack of cheese cake / coffee at a stall near the Tobou train station.
We made a futile attempt to a Daiso shopping centre at a nearby town; and had to return to our hotel for our dinner.
Day 3: Sight seeing @ Lake Chuzenji 中禅寺湖, then 3-4 hour drive to Kutsasu 草津 via Ikaho 伊香保
Checked out from our hotel after breakfast. Drove past Irohazada Winding Road 伊吕波坂，stopped at a look out point for photo taking session, before reaching Akechidaira Ropeway 明智平缆车索道。
We managed to board the last ropeway before it was closed tentatively because of strong wind. The view of Lake Chuzenji 中禅寺湖 and Kegon Falls 华严瀑布 from hill top at the end of ropeway was simply magnificent - NOT to be missed by any chance!
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| Lake Chuzenji on top, and Kegon Falls below |
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| Winding Road seen when ascending the Ropeway |
After ascending from the ropeway, we drove towards Lake Chuzenji. Kegon Falls was located right next to the bus station nearby. To appreciate the true beauty and wonder of the falls, we had to buy tickets to access an elevator about 100 m down from ground level.
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| Kegon Falls |
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| Another falls at another corner near Kegon Falls |
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| Lake Chuzenji |
We then moved on in search of Ryuzu Falls 龙头瀑布。
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| View of Ryuzu Falls |
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| Ryuzu Falls |
We left Lake Chuzenji，descending down the Irohazada winding road and heading towards Kusatsu 草津 via Ikaho Onsen Village 伊香保温泉.
It was a long drive, passing through small villages, at speed limit of 40-50 km/h. It was snowing by the time we reached Kusatsu.
Highlights of Kutsatsu:
^^Origin of Onsen 汤細
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| Rows of wooden blocks whereby sediments from the hotspring were filtered off before streaming down to be used |
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| Main plaza at 汤細 |
^^热乃汤 (cultural show depicting how the hotspring was cooled down with wooden planks through dances and songs) - could be omitted if one was running out of time.
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| In old days, people used the long wooden oar-like planks to cool down the steaming hot water, by flipping the water on wooden planks side-way and then up/down. |
We took our dinner at Kusatsu, before driving back to Ikaho Onsen Village. It was quite late (beyond 8pm) by the time we reached Hashimoto Hotel at Ikaho.
Day 4: Sightseeing around Ikaho and Mt Haruna, then depart for Tokyo. Parked car in Hotel, and traveled via Metro to visit Tokyo Tower (one piece shop), Shibuya traffic junction.
We were pleasantly surprised to witness snow covered landscapes outside our hotel room's balcony. Snow was falling gracefully from the sky.
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| On the way to stone steps |
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| Stone Steps with shops lining both sides |
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| Shrine on top of the hill |
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| In the compound of the shrine at the upper end of the steps |
After visiting the stone steps (石段街) and eaten the famous dumplings, we checked out from our hotel and drove to Mt Haruna, took a ropeway to peak for a view of the lake (an old volcano crater). There is shrine at the peak of the mountain, but we didn't climb up there.
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| Steps leading to the shrine at the top of the hill |
We chanced upon a Goddess of Mercy temple in Ikaho, while looking for a soba restaurant.
We wrapped up our trip in Ikaho, and drove all the way to Tokyo. Reached Tokyo in the evening (some traffic jam near the metropolitan city), and checked into our hotel. Parked our car in the hotel for the next 2 days, and went exploring Tokyo Tower (visiting One Piece shop) and Shibuya (immersed in the hustle and bustle of the crowd at the busy Shibuya crossing). CY and my wife had spend over one hour in the cosmetic/pharmaceutical shops in Shibuya. (Too tired to visit Hachiko statue nearby).
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| Tokyo Tower |
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| Shibuya cross roads |
Day 4: Sightseeing within Tokyo metropolitan (tips: buy one day metro ticket)
Took our breakfast in the hotel, then walked to Asakusa temple 浅草寺 (a World Heritage Site). The place was thronged with tourists. The building and temples are brightly coloured, and rather commercialized. Iconic huge lanterns (雷门) hang valiantly at the main entrance. (I prefer the quiet and rustic charm of another temple at Nagano).
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| Side entrance to the temple |
Took a few snap shots around Asakusa temple.
Skytree 晴空塔
Trishaw peddler
Next stop: Tsukiji Fish Market 筑地鱼市场。We reached there around 2pm. Most of the stalls selling sashimi were closed for business. We managed to find one that was still open, but the service was not so pleasant and the sashimi not that fresh as we wished.
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| Stalls in the fish market |
Walked around the neighbourhood, and chanced upon a nearby alley with lined with stalls selling seafood/sashimi. Tried some scallops, sea urchins and sashimi along the way.
Took metro to Harajuku 原宿，explore Takeshita Dori 竹下通, shopping alley catering for youth. (unable to visit Meiji Jingu because already dark by the time we reached there). Took our dinner there in between window shopping.
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| Guess who goes there... |
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| queueing for crepes |
Final stop: Shinjuku - went up 45th floor observation deck at Metropolitan Government Office for night view (from enclosed space, through wide glass panels; difficult to take photos though because of indoor light reflections).
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| Tokyo Tower far far away |
Day 5: Pick up CK from Narita Airport, and drove to Hakone
Left Tokyo for Narita Airport to pick up CK. He arrived at 8 a.m.
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| In front of arrival hall, Narita Airport |
Drove all the way to Hakone. Smooth drive, passing by some scenic towns (including Hakone -Yumoto 箱根汤本, where the scenic Hakone Tozan Railway 登山铁道 departs) . We stopped over at Gora 强罗for lunch, and conveniently parked our car at the restaurant (after asking permission from the owner). The Gora Station where we boarded the cable car 登山铁车to Sounzan Station 早云山was only 200 meters away.
Gora Station and cable car
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| Cable car traveling towards Sounzan |
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| Inside cable car |
From Sounzan Station, we transit into Hakone Ropeway 索道线, stopped over at Owakudani 大涌谷, made a brief stop at last station (Togendai 桃园台 Station at the shore of Lake Ashi 阿寒湖), before making a return trip to Gora.
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| Hakone Ropeway @ Sounzan station |
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| Owakudani (fuming volcanic crater): aerial view |
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| Fujisan in the background |
The walking trail at Owakudani was closed because the area is still deemed unstable for casual visitors to explore.
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| Togendai Station @ Lake Ashi |
We checked into Hakone Gora Kanon in the evening. The ryokan was located in a rather secluded area.
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| Dinner @ Ryokan |
Day 6: Sightseeing around Hakone, then drive to Fujikyu Highland.
Raining heavily in the morning. Unable to go for nature walk/sightseeing. Hence, went to Yunessun Hotspring Resort and Spa instead (to explore the onsen with wine, sake, coffee flavours). We spent about 2 hours there, hoping that the rain would stop soon.
Verdict: a place to visit if it is raining, or you have extra time to spare. The thrills of seeing onsen with bright colours (red wine, yellow sake, black coffee) sizzled off after the novelty wore off.
We drove around Hakone central district looking for a place for lunch, but parking lots were rather limited. We gave up after failing to find a place to park our car, and decided to drive towards Lake Ashi, visiting Hakone Shrine instead. Drove narrow alleys in between old houses, finally managed to hit the winding main road, and was pleasantly surprise to run into an ancient tea house Amazake-Chaya 箱根甘酒茶屋. This was a place for tired travelers to take a rest after walking through the mountains in ancient days. The Amazake (a non-alcoholic, non-sugar and sweetish beverage) is a must try item there!
We then drove on to Hakone Shrine, specifically targeting the lakefront torii 鸟居。The path along the Lake Ashi leading to the torii was enchanting by itself, let alone the torii.
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| steps leading to Hakone Shrine |
After photo taking at the lakefront torii, we moved on to Onshi Hakone Park 恩赐箱根公园. The Hakone Detached Palace 旧箱根离宫(a majestic brick bungalow which used to be summer palace for the imperial family) and observatory deck were located at the highest point of the park. (
no photo taken as we didn't know the significance of the bungalow until much later...)
The park itself is quite serene and beautiful, with good view of Lake Ashi and even Mount Fuji (weather permits).
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| Lake Ashi |
As it was getting late, we did not visit the Hakone Checkpoint next to the park.
It was another 3 hours or so drive (via Ashinoko Skyline) to our next destination , Fuji Q Highland Resort and Theme Park. Ashinoko Skyline is reputed to offer good aerial views of the lakes and alps. But we couldn't see anything as the skyline was foggy all the way with poor visibility.
We stopped near Gotenba for dinner along the way, and took snap shots of Mount Fuji in one of the stops.
Checked into Fuji Q Highland Resort and Spa Hotel. The hotel offers complementary free pass into the park - we explored the theme park next door for a short while. Ended the day by immersing ourselves into the embrace of spacious onsen.
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| light show at night @ Fuji Q Highland |
Day 7: Fuji Q Theme Park - rides for the kids, and horror house treat for the whole family.
The youths (CY, CK and CJ) had a field day enjoying all the thrill rides in the park. One of them (huge and lengthy roller coaster) was not operating because of strong wind condition.
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| This ride was not operating because of strong wind |
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| CK riding solo |
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CY and CJ riding together
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My wife and I went for morning onsen, then explored the nearby town (took our lunch, shopped at supermarket), before meeting up with the kids around 4pm for the treat at horror house.
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| In Supermarket |
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| View of Mt Fuji from our hotel window |
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| view of Fujiyoshida town |
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| View of Fuji Q Highland Theme Park from our room |
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| Mount Fuji |
The horror house was quite a let down; not as frightening as I had expected.
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| The Horror House |
We left Fuji Q Highland theme park by 7pm (when it closed for business), and drove the Fuji Premium Resort which was about 20 minutes drive away. The hotel is located right in the middle of mountainous forest. I must say the apartment itself was rather spacious!
Day 8: Visit Lake Motosu 本栖湖 （看千丹扎富士山倒影 view of Mount Fuji and its reflection as depicted in Japanese 1000 Yen bills), Aokigahara @ Suicide Forest (青木树海), and Lake Kawaguchiko 河口湖. Photo shot outside Matsumoto Castle, before driving to Ryuo Park Hotel in Yamanouchi.
Superb view of Mt Fuji from Eastern end of Lake Motosu (small car park available there for visitors). A must for those on self driving tour.
My children were fascinated with Aokigahara, not so much for its natural beauty, but for its eerie association with suicides/mysterious deaths there.
We drove around trying to locate the notorious "preferred" spots for suicides but the staff serving tourist information counters were not helpful (they claimed there was no such spots). Perhaps they were fearful that the family of 5 was trying to do something fishy...
Took some photos in the green forests:
Drove around Lake Kawaguchiko. The queue at Kachikachi Ropeway was quite long. Hence, we decided to give it a miss (after all, we had seen enough of Mt Fuji and the lakes, and taken multiple ropeways earlier).
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Kawaguchiko Lake
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| KachiKachi Ropeway in the background |
Reached Matsumoto by 5pm. Managed to take some photos of the famed ancient wood castle.
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| Matsumoto Castle |
We stopped over for dinner at rest station along the expressway (on the way to Yamanouchi). Prior to entering Nagano district, the highway patrol was checking diligently all passing cars to see if they were equipped with snow tyres. It snowed quite heavily as we drove to our destination.
Was quite fascinated to see water being sprayed out from nozzles placed in the central road divider to prevent ice from forming on the road.
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| Water spraying out from the centre road divider |
Drove up the mountain to reach Ryuo Park Hotel @ Ryuo Ski Park. The whole road was covered with snow. We had to lug our bags (5 of them),for about 100m from the carpark, up the snow-laden slope to reach our car park (the boys were the strong ones doing the manual tasks).
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| Our hotel on the right in the day |
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| Snow laden car... |
Day 9: Skiing for the kids; Leisure time (sky rope to the peak) for parents.
The "kids" rented the ski sets and went up for skiing, leaving the two older adults to take a ride on the ropeway to the top of Ryuo Ski Park. (A pick-up truck drove us from the information centre to the Ropeway station). The cable car was thronged with crowds (can carry over 100 passengers at one go). The peak was blanketed with fogs and snow falls; hardly could see anything down hill. The beautiful "sea of clouds 云海" was no where to be seen (what a disappointment)!
We took our lunch at the peak. Then returned back to our hotel around 2pm. Waited for the kids who returned around 5pm, and went out for dinner.
The first restaurant we chose was fully reserved; we randomly selected another local restaurant nearby. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise - good and cheap food!
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| walking to the restaurant |
Day 10: Jigokudani Snow monkeys 地狱谷野猿公园 and ancient Daizen-ji Temple大善寺 at Nagano 长野
The 2 km (20-30 min) walk along snow laden trail sandwiched between rows of trees on both sides was probably more enchanting than viewing the snow monkeys gathering in the artificially build onsen in the park.
Made a brief stop at Daizen-ji Temple 大善寺 in Nagano 长野。It is a much more rustic yet solemn sacred place than Asakusa 浅草寺。
Had our sumptuous buffet dinner at Nagano. Then drove 5 hours all the way to Hotel Makomo at Itako 潮来。
Running low on petrol (near empty). All petrol kiosks in town were closed (it happened to be New Year Eve 31 Dec).
Day 11: Back to Singapore.
Managed to locate a petrol station that reportedly opened 24/7 (but subject to changes during New Year). After much difficulties, managed to get the hotel staff to call and confirm that the kiosk was open for business. The indicator was showing "empty" sign 3 km before we reached our destination--but we managed to get our tank filled up before the car stalled! (PHEW!!! What a harrowing experience).
Managed to take a glimpse at the sun rise far away from the river bank as we left the town; it was quite beautiful and reminded me of the view we had in Grand Canyon many years ago.
Truly amazing trip. Self driving around Tokyo is not too difficult with GPS / internet guide. Tour of Nikko World Heritage Sites (temples/shrines), Kusatsu Onsen (hotspring origin), Hakone, view of Mount Fuji and experience of night driving during heavy snow falls were truly fascinating.
Even with pocket WiFi, it is still advisable to carry along GPS because WiFi may not be accessible in mountainous terrains.
