Rise & Shine! Following last night's scrumptious dinner, the breakfast was equally good & there's a spread to select from! For the first time, I had some porridge to go with all the various side dishes. I have half day to explore Hakone & decided to start off early. It's super convenient to stay at Gora, I highly recommend this location as this is the interchange to transfer to the ropeway.
From Gora, visitors have to board the cable-car for a 9min journey to Sounzan station & transfer to the Hakone Ropeway for the continuing journey. I alighted at Owakudani Station for a stroll up to the volcano. It's an active volcano which was spurting sulphur! There were volcanic black ice-cream & eggs being peddled in the area but I didn't try.
The cruise was decked out nicely too & I was busy taking photos on the deck plus enjoying the slow cruise journey. I alighted at the first stop ~ Hakone Machi & took me some time to locate the Old Hakone Checkpoint. I toured thru' the exhibit & exit thru' to the Cedar Avenue. It's a whole stretch filled with cedar trees, however I didn't proceed to walk the path as I was not sure how long it would take me to complete & it just seems too quiet.
I took a return journey on the cruise & it stopped at the 2nd stop ~ Moto Hakone to fetch more passengers. I didn't dropped by here as I estimated time would probably be insufficient as the cruise only runs on hourly basis. Hakone is really huge & the travelling journey turned out to be smooth as its various transport system works in sync together. I got back to Gora station super late at 3pm.
I was famished & randomly picked a traditional 2-storeys restaurant nearby for a quick late lunch. My lunch was simple Japanese fried rice but it's really well-cooked! Maybe I was too hungry! I descended the mountain by catching a rail back to Odawara. From Odawara, I boarded the Shinkansen to Shinjuku JR. Phew! I was glad I made it in time as I had booked an apartment hotel in the area & required me to check-in by 7pm.
I felt very lost in Shinjuku which was such a huge station & has so many exits! Luckily, the station master kindly led me to the elevator when I query how to get to the South-East Exit. Never would I thought cutting thru' the platform would get me to this exit! So I tried to remember as I would be using this exit for next 3 days.
After I checked into my smallest lodging so far, I went out for dinner at the nearby Takashimaya. It's actually very challenging to find a budget accommodation in the heart of Tokyo, the rooms were tiny & costly! Since I had stayed in Asakusa on my first night, I decided to stay in Shinjuku for convenience sake. I took a long & slow stroll walking from one end of Shinjuku Station to the other end, easily 30mins! I couldn't find the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building & had to check with one of the local.
Ultimately, I reached TMG building which is one of Tokyo's landmarks with an observatory on the 45th floor. There's a bag check at the security before one can take the elevator up. I was captivated by the beautiful night scene & my sight was locked on the seemingly far Tokyo Tower. As I do not have a tripod, it was a challenge to stabilise my dslr & shooting thru' the glass panels. For tonight, this was my only To-Visit place hence I could take my own sweet time to nail my ideal shot!
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