Day 7: Osaka Castle & Hakone

This morning breakfast at the hotel was very simple, just a few onigiri (Japanese rice balls) but it's quite nice! After filling my tummy, I strolled for 15mins to the Osaka Castle Park. I noticed a queue was formed outside a garden's entrance before it even open at 9am! I gamely joined the Q, thinking that this must be the Castle's entrance. In japan, it is common to pay a small admission fees for their gardens which are usually nicely landscape & worth to pause for photoshoot.

 

I got into the garden & noticed a big group of youngsters were preparing for their hanami under the blooming sakura trees. They had carted tons of beverage & food too! As I walked thru' the pathway, I could see the Osaka Castle but there is a moat between me & the castle. This would be the outer fringe view & the sakura made nice framing for the castle. After I walked 1 round, I realised there were no thru' route to enter the castle! I was told that I need to exit this garden & walked further down!

 

Hence, I quickly went in search of the Osaka Castle's entrance... Wow! There were a lot of tourists milling around the castle. The signs showed either you Q for the elevator or you walked up the stairs. I happily thought that there were only 3 storeys to climb, then I found out to my horror there were 8 storeys of stairs to ascend! With my heavy bag, I found myself panting to catch my breath! I only briefly toured the museum inside the Castle. The ultimate view was at top of the Castle where you could have a bird eye's view of Osaka City.

 

Upon descending the Castle, I noticed a bunch of photographers looking up the sakura trees. I walked closer & realised there were some beautiful sparrows perching on the trees! To save time from changing lens, I used my compact zoom & managed to shoot the beautiful sparrow! With that, I gladly strolled back to my hotel to pick up my luggage to head to Osaka JR.

 

At Shin-Osaka Station, this gotta be my 3rd time stopping by this station to change trains. I went to check out the yummy bentos I always pack for lunch. I saw this popular 'Best of Kansai' bento which seems delicious. On board the train, I couldn't resist to snap a few pics as it's presentation was awesome! I like how they have a pic to state which dish hailed from which area. There's Kobe Beef, salmon, tamago, squid & some vegetables - from Osaka, Kobe & Kyoto. This is my best & last train bento for this trip!

 

After 142min journey from Shin-Osaka, I arrived at Odawara. I approached the tourism centre to purchase my 2-days Hakone Freepass. I met a Taiwanese guy who part-time here to query about walking the Cedar Avenue. Just before I arrived, there were heavy rain here & he advised me not to walk the muddy area. Also heeding his advice, I took the Hakone Tozan Railway to Chokoku-no-Mori Station to visit The Hakone Open Air Museum before going to my lodging.

 

 

Upon arriving at The Hakone Open Air Museum, I was told that they would be closing in an hour's time. It was freezing cold & foggy! I parked my backpack at their locker & went in to explore the place. Basically, it's an arts garden with various sculptures. I managed to finish the whole place just when they announced it's closing. I returned to board the rail to Gora, I realised I was on the wrong direction while on the train! ahh! I dropped off at the next stop & there were nobody, just ME there! It's quite a scary feeling to be alone in a setting sun mountainous area & the 15 - 20mins wait seems eternity!  

 

After my mini adventure, I arrived at Gora station & couldn't seems to locate my Gora Hotel. Upon checking with the mini-mart, I realised the hotel is just outside the station but its name was written in Japanese! The reception also do not have English speaking staff & I seems to be one of the few foreigners among the domestic tourists.

 

Well, I've no regrets about picking this hotel as this gotta be my closest lodging to the station! There's also hot spring facility & the whole place just seems cosy, a refuge from the freezing temperature outside, which I estimate could be just 3 or 4 degrees. I went to check out its onsen (hot spring) after check-in. I was surprised that I could occupy the whole place by myself! Maybe cos I came late, the other guests had went for dinner. It's such a nice feeling to soak in the onsen as it helps the whole body relax & removed some fatigue.

 

When done with the onsen, I went to the dining area & discovered a scrumptious spread of buffet! Wow! I didn't expect this when I booked this hotel! The roast beef was especially awesome as it was cut by the chef & you have to eat with their special sauce. The coldness & all the energy drained for past days were made up with this meal. I could even D.I.Y soft-serve ice-cream with the fresh fruits! There were also cakes & mochi for desserts. Since there's no recreation at night on a mountain resort, the best part gotta be indulge in good food! haha!

 

An hour rest after dinner, I found myself returning to the onsen for one last time. This round also didn't have many guests! This time, I tried the outdoor onsen & it's so good. I love outdoor onsen as you could breath the fresh mountain air while soaking & if lucky, can star-gaze as well!  The onsen dip certainly helped to reduce my fatigue & slept better in the night!