Shopping Day : 8th July 2015

On our last day at Ubuya, Dear woke up pretty early that day and disturbed me from my sleep. The reason was there was clear sky in that morning and Mount Fuji was clearly visible at that very instant!! Thank goodness we finally got to see Fujisan on our last day!

A perfect end to our road trip!

Despite the sky being cloudy, the shape of Fujisan can be seen clearly with its reflection on the peaceful Lake Kawaguchiko. We had breakfast at the restaurant while enjoying this view. Now I understand why Japanese value Fujisan so much. The sight of it will just awe you with an immense satisfaction and respect for the mountain :)

Our elaborated Breakfast at Ubuya

Lobby at Ubuya

We really spent our time to the fullest at Ubuya before saying goodbye at the time of checkout (11am). We decided to drive back to the Toyota Kofu outlet to return our car and as there was still time, we decided to check out a really big Uniqlo store near to Kofu city... If you think the prices of Uniqlo products are affordable in Singapore, you will probably shop till you drop when you are in Japan, especially to less populated areas. We manage to find real good deals of good quality wear, be it casual or office wear at prices like 500 yen?!!! Totally unbelievable..you could easily spend a day there but we need to return our car, so we shopped to our best ability to the time limit...haha

After returning the car to Kofu branch, we dragged our real heavy luggages to the shinkansen, taking towards SHinjuku..It is about 1.5hour ride and we packed bento to have lunch on the train :)

Away from the peaceful and calm environment of Yamanashi prefecture, we returned back to the city life in Shinjuku. Weather was really bad that day with heavy rain. Fortunately, our hotel JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom Shinjuku was found round the corner from the South Terrace Exit of Shinjuku station. Shinjuku station is a big maze if you haven't been there.You can lose your directions with so many exits and so many buildings above the ground, and also underground as there are so many passageways. Luckily, Dear was at Shinjuku the day he arrived, so he was pretty familiar with the whereabouts of the hotel haha

Raining the whole day

Walk, Shop, Eat at Shinjuku

All Walks of Life

Phew, what a long journey! so we rested our feet before heading out to Lumine EST to make our Zoff spectacles. Have heard a lot about Zoff specs from friends, known for its light and good quality specs, fast service and reasonable prices, so we decided to give it a try! Although little English could be used for communication, we managed fine first by choosing the design, did a free eye-test, and made the payment. In around 25mins, the specs were ready and we were really happy with the purchase that we wore them immediately as they were so light!

(taken from another good blogpost on Zoff specs)

We went ahead to have dinner, this time some pasta, as we had many many days of Japanese cuisine and decided to have a short break from it haha.. and after dinner, I wanna explore the Yodobashi and Bic Camera outlets in Shinjuku. But, I did not know Yodobashi Shinjuku is divided into many small outlets everywhere in Shinjuku, and the different type of items are sold at different areas, not under a single building! This is really confusing to me as at Osaka and Sapporo, all items can be found in a single building with no hassle of walking around in circles! 

After purchasing what we wanted, we couldnt help but feel the travel fatigue kicking in again. Gotta rest early today as the following day we would be meeting Nakano-san for our adventure in Nikko! 

Animal Fun : 7th July 2015

We woke up bright and early at 5am to meet Koga-san for our wildlife trip! It was a last-minute decision and we were glad there was no rain that morning haha..

We took a car ride to Fujigane district in Fujikawaguchiko town..where the western edge of Aokigahara sea of trees are seen.. We hoped to catch sight of any wildlife like deer, squirrel or fox...However, wildlife is unpredictable! We could only pray for the best haha

A precautionary sign at where we left our car haha..sounds thrilling!

Although there was so much greenery, wildlife was really tough to spot!! We saw glimpses of deer who ran very quickly away after they spotted us.. No fox..no squirrel..sad! But, the walk was considered one of the best scenic walks which we had experienced..

Running frantically away upon spotting us :(

After walking near to 2h, we gave up and explored the Asagiri Highlands..there we encountered the morning mist..visibility was really minimal and you could feel yourself walking into the unknown territory. 

We met a few cows as Asagiri Highlands is known for its dairy farming. There are many dairy farms in that area. If weather is good, you can also see Mount Fuji at a very close distance! We saw a mere glimpse of Fujisan which appeared to hide beneath huge thick clouds. This beckons a next visit in winter time with clear sky and snow-capped Mount Fuji! Lake Motosuko can also be observed from a vantage point around this place.

Fujisan wearing a hat

It was a tiring but fulfilling morning. After saying farewell to Koga-san, we hurried back to Ubuya for our sumptious Western-style breakfast. The feast was amazing and we really enjoyed our cuisine haha.. This really brought our tiredness away. 

Fujisan from the restaurant's view

Yummy breakfast!

After resting a while, we left for our adventure again.

Our next stop was Fuji Milkland. It is located west of Mount Fuji and is known for its dairy produce too..it is also a place to visit interesting farm animals like the following...

Curiosity in their Eyes

Aint they cute? I guessed this was my first time seeing a donkey..haha really Eeyor-look-alike.. The little goats were very curious to see us and keep trying to get our attention..while the older ones were too busy munching on their hay haha..there were also 2 horses but they were kept in the stable.. We did not spend a long time there.. Visiting these animals were also free.. So you can drop by to say Hi to them!

As we head further to the west, we reached Shiraito Falls, the majestic waterfalls!! It would be lucky to see a rainbow at the falls but as that day was too cloudy, we saw none.. Before reaching Shiraito falls, we had to trek a little and saw Otodome falls.. It was quite spectacular too! And finally..Shiraito falls greeted us..it was like a heavenly place and we hurried to absorb some negative ions haha!

Otodome Falls

Shiraito Falls

We were quite shagged as the day proceeded due to an early morning.. We took a leisure drive all the way to Fuji Safari Park to visit the bears and aome other animals. Fuji Safari Park is a famous attraction in the Fuji region. You can drive your car in and see these animals in a safari-setting but you cannot open your car windows for safety reasons. It was the first time we saw the big bears! They looked pretty scary actually haha..not as cute as I thought.. 

Big Black Bears

Baby Zebra

We also saw lions, tiger, camels, alpacas, deers, elephants and giraffes..

After the safari visit, we parked our car and went on to explore the different areas of the park. We entered this dog enclosure and were swarmed with many cute dogs. You are free to pet them, play with them or let them rest by your arms which they love to do so! 

Looks like Bobdog!

They enjoyed accompanying him!

After this dog visit, we had our lunch at their restuarant. It was quite yummy with the omelette rice to satiate our hunger. And off we left.. To a large large Sports store named as SportsDepo. Boy! I must tell you this place really sell any single thing related to sports at real cheap prices! Especially at less populated/rural places, prices are significantly lower!

On our way...this is at the Toll Gate..Everything is Automated with clear instructions!

Very Happy with our loot!

So..after 2h of shopping haha..we headed back to Ubuya for our Shabu Shabu dinner :) we were really looking forward as it had been a cold and rainy day again..

Shabu Shabu!

Feeling totally satisfied at this feast, we toasted at the end of a wonderful day. This night was the last night we spent at Ubuya.. Still we could not see beautiful and clear view of Fujisan.. Until the next day :D

Attractions:

1. Fujigane district in Fujikawaguchiko town
2. Asagiri Highlands
3. Fuji Milkland
4. Shiraito Falls
5. Fuji Safari Park
6. SportsDepo

Kawaguchiko: 6th July 2015

It was the day both of us looked forward to! We would be making our way to our posh ryokan Kozantei Ubuya! I chanced upon this place while finding accomodation around Lake Kawaguchiko. Although the price is quite steep, but the services and room quality with the private onsen are highly praised by all visitors. I almost could not find any negative opinion about this ryokan haha..since it is still early before check-in, we decided to go to Manriki Park.

I got to know about Manriki Park while searching for interesting animals in Yamanashi prefecture. And the roly-poly raccoon came as one of the hits! So I placed this on my must-visit list haha.. And yes, I finally saw the raccoon and his younger bro! 

The roly-poly raccoon! Look at his size!

His younger bro who was shy and hiding

They were simply too cute beyond words that I kept photographing them haha.. And we chatted a little with the staff in the park to understand how come the raccoon become so plump haha..bet he is having great food all the time!

We bade farewell to the raccoons and alao saw a lonely capybara at the park.

This animal enclosure is actually free..so people to Manriki Park can come by to visit these animals too! 

Saying Goodbye!

We then drove towards the direction to Kawaguchiko. It was raining all the way and we decided to make our way to Music Forest Museum around the lake. This place was like a fairytale, with beautiful decorated European style gardens and elaborated buildings that house the antiques and ancient music instruments. We attended a couple of performances. Although they were all explained in Japanese, we enjoyed the visual and music and thought they were very well orchestrated.

This teddy bear was placed at the middle of this musical hall, awaiting for folks like us to take wefie

Whole day rain rain rain!

We were totally famished after this visit and dropped by a nearby restaurant for some chashudon and ramen. And it was at this place our minds were totally blown off by the tenderness of the chashu!! Look at that serving size!! Dear was totally satisfied hahaa

Interesting Lamp

That awesome bowl of chashudon

After dinner, we drove to Lake Yamanako to check out the largest lake among the five lakes in the Mount Fuji area. As it was still raining, walking along the lake was quite chilly but beautiful swans and colorful fish came by to welcome us!

Colorful fish that look like that exhibit fluorescence :)

So after Lake Yamanako, we drove to Kozantei Ubuya for a well-deserved rest!! The warm welcome and tea greeted us and the staff were really nice. Although they speak little English, we could still manage and they brought us to our room and we were flabbergasted!! Sooo beautiful! We were very sure we would have a wonderful time there :)

So we rested, had some onsen, before making our way to the restaurant for our first Japanese kaiseki dinner!! Weather was bad so we could not see Mount Fuji that day. Nonetheless, the cuisine was so good and we were so full at the end of dinner!

Small appetizers

Sashimi served in this icebowl style is my first time!

 Teppanyaki style

Yummy dessert

Too full to even walk! Hahaha.. We could not see any stars but were happy to relax in this haven! Going to rest early for a exciting adventure tomorrow morning 5am!!