DAY 4 TOKYO

We had to leave Tokyo in the afternoon so we still had some free time in the morning. So we went to Tsukiji fish market in the morning. There are 2 very famous sushi restaurants and it is worth to try!! We didn't have the map so we just asked the local people for the way. I was suddenly feeling so proud that I could speak Japanese :D

The sushi restaurants are quite small and there were many people waiting outside. We chose one and then we waited for nearly 45mins. I can say that the suishi was the best that I ever had!! I chose the "chef recommendation" menu and the chef made me sushi with the freshest fishes.

I had 10 more pieces sushi and all of them was very good!! I loved the sea urchin and salmon eggs sushi!! I didn't like the salmon eggs sushi in Hong Kong but surprisingly this one was so tasty!! Wowwww yummy!! It was a very great brunch for us!!

Then we bought some sea urchin in the fish market and some snacks and strawberries in the department store. Although we were full, we still wanted to eat some more things!! :D The strawberries were so sweet!! Very fresh and delicious!! :) Seems like this trip I only eat!!! :D

4 days is pretty short but it was good to get away! I went back to Hong Kong at around 11pm but unfortunately I have to work on the next day :(

DAY 3 TOKYO

Finally it was a nice sunny day today!! But I planned to do some shopping but not sightseeing. We spent whole day in Shinjuku, walked and shopped around. Unfortunately Japan Yen is very strong now and I didn't buy many things. Just some clothes, camera accessory, snacks, scarf and cosmetic. I wanted to buy bags and shoes but I couldn't find something that I like.

We were quite tired for walking for whole day. We walked around camera shops / electronic goods shops in the morning, had lunch at a sushi restaurant and then shopped around at the department stores in the afternoon. I wish the Yen was cheaper!!

We had Kaiseki ryouri for dinner, I searched this restaurant from the internet and booked it in advance. The food was pretty good!! We had an independent room and a pretty Japanese lady served us and explained to me about the food. Very good service!!

But I think Shinjuku is more complicated than before coz I saw quite a lot of gangsters on the streets in Kabuki cyo. The shops in Japan close quiet early so we walked back to hotel after dinner.

DAY 2 KAWAGUCHIKO / HAKONE

What a nasty weather!! I was so disappointed to wake up seeing the rain outside. It rained even heavier than yesterday!! Darn!! I don't want a rainy vacation!! After having Japanese style breakfast at the hotel, we took the couch to Hakone. It is supposed that we would go to Mt. Fuji but becoz of the rain, it was canceled.

On the way to Hakone, we saw a few Sakura trees! What a surprise!! The sakura should have withered and fallen at the end of April but it was still a bit cold in Hakone, luckily we could still see them!! It was my first time to see the Sakura!! Very beautiful!!

Then we went to Owakudani, it is a volcanic valley with active sulphur vents and hot springs. We walked up a bit to see the hot springs but I didn't really have good mood becoz of the weather.

There is a very famous food - Kuru-Tamago (Black egg) in Owakudani. The eggs are hard-boiled in the hot springs and they turn black and smell slightly sulphuric. It is a rumuored that eating the eggs would increase longevity and one egg adds 7 years in your life. I didn't eat any coz I don't want longer life LOL (Actually I don't like hard-boiled egg and I tasted it many years ago already).

After visint Owakudani, we went to Lake Ashi and had lake cruise. The sightseeing ship is modeled on medieval sailing vessel and the name of the ship is Victoria. It rained heavily and it was very foggy so I couldn't see Mt. Fuji from the ship. What a shame!!

We then have lunch in a local restaurant. It was a Japanese set lunch with rice and udon. The food was ok only. And after lunch we took the couch to Tokyo and it was quite a long journey. When we arrived Shinjuku, it was nearly 7pm. We checked in and rested a bit at the hotel, then went out to have dinner.

My friend recommended me to try this Japanese BBQ restaurant "Rokkasen" so I booked it in advance. It was a BBQ buffet and it costed Yen6,300 per person. They have many kind of food just like crabs, shrimp, scallop, fish, beef, chicken, pork, salad, vegetable... We ordered a lot of food and I loved the beef a lot!! So tasty!! And their service was good too!! We were sooooo full!! :D

DAY 1 HONG KONG / KAWAGUCHIKO

Yay Here we go Tokyo!!! Many friends think that I often go to Japan or I'm an expert in Japanese culture of stuff but frankly the last time that I went to Japan was 7 years ago!! It has been a long time and it surprised me a bit too LOL Actually I like travelling to Japan and I want to travel there more but the reason that I didn't go much is going to Japan can be more expensive than going to Europe!! I think I will crazy for shopping around LOL

This time I got a very "special offer" to Tokyo for 4 days, tho it is short, I was still looking forward to it!! We took the morning flight to Tokyo, when we arrived Narita airport, it was nearly 2pm already. The weather in Tokyo wasn't fine, it rained a bit. We took the couch to Kawaguchiko directly coz we would stay a night there. It was a long journey to Kawaguchiko!! Nearly 4 hours by couch and when we arrived the hotel, it was nearly 7pm. Nothing much to do today actually...

We stayed in Kawaguchiko hotel which is a classic Japanese style hotel. I heard that the Japanese Emperors have stayed there before. This hotel is facing to Kawaguchiko and I'm sure the view would be very great if the weather was fine. My room had the lake view too!! What a shame that the weather was so gloomy!!

We had dinner at the hotel, they provided us set dinner with Shabu Shabu. The food was just ok, I had no expectation for the meal at the hotel LOL

After dinner, we wore the Yukata and then joined the party at the function room. I didn't really want to join the part coz I knew it wouldn't be interesting but I had no choice. They provided free Asahi beer and snacks so it wasn't too bad. But it was really boring and luckily the party didn't last too long.

I was too tired so I went back to the hotel room and watched TV for a while, then I slept right away. There is nothing around the hotel except the lake so it wasn't a good idea to go out at night since it was raining.