JAPAN 9 DAYS Series | Hakone Day 2
Continuing from ... JAPAN 9 DAYS Series | Hakone Day 1
We started our day with a hot onsen bath and a Daily Mart breakfast. Our hotel reservation did not include breakfast so we just bought some goodies at a nearby grocery store. Check out time is standard at 10AM. But we checked out around 8:30AM and left our bags in the free locker of our hotel. (Which was a huge mistake... find out why here)
Our first sightseeing stop is...
GORA PARK
Gora Park is just 2 cable car stations away from where our hotel is located. By the time we got at the park, it was not open yet.
We walked in at Daily Mart and bought some more noodles. Chanced upon a good looking stray cat in the area too.
Gora Park opens daily from 9AM-5PM. It has an entry fee of 550 Yen. Free admission if you have Hakone Free Pass.
It's just a small park, with a huge fountain at the center. The flowers are not in full bloom since it's autumn season. Nonetheless, it's a relaxing place to see. There's also a craft house inside.
Our second stop is...
HAKONE OPEN AIR MUSEUM
This was the start of our messed up decision making. We finished touring Gora Park at 10AM. Google maps says that the open air museum is a good 15-20 minutes walk and is also suggesting that we can take a bus or take the train. We chose the bus, but we waited for the bus to arrive for a freaking 15 minutes already and still it did not come. We ended up walking instead. And that ate our precious 35 minutes.
We also found out that there are many coin lockers at Gora Park and Hakone Open Air Museum. We shouldn't have left our bags at the hotel. #ICry
The entrance fee at the Open Air Museum is 1,600 Yen. You get a discounted price of 1,400 Yen with the Hakone Free Pass.
The open air museum is just a brilliant idea showcasing both the beauty of nature, the picturesque view of the mountains and the creativeness of each artworks on its grounds. It's like a huge park with cool artworks here and there.
Third stop...
LUNCH
We were just too happy that there were a few restaurants lined up near the museum. We were lucky to stumbled upon Cafe Douce. It is an unassuming cafe with lots of brilliance. The owners are nice. The wife cooks perfect pasta for our taste. The cake served was so good, it wasn't too sweet which was perfect for my taste. The salad was delicious. The tea, awesome. Everything was just perfect. We felt that the time stood still while we were having our perfect and delicious lunch - with the 90's music on the background.
We were really having the best time of our lives, except, the time never really stood still. We forgot about the time. It was already 11:20AM. We have to go back and fetch our things at the hotel. We have a 2:08PM shinkansen trip to catch up. Going back to our hotel, will take us about 30 minutes. From our hotel, we need to take the cable car, the hakone tozan line train, change train to odawara station, pick up our luggage at the coin locker in Daiyuzan Line. 2 hours is not enough. So the burning question is, yeah, What if you miss your Shinkansen???
We started our day with a hot onsen bath and a Daily Mart breakfast. Our hotel reservation did not include breakfast so we just bought some goodies at a nearby grocery store. Check out time is standard at 10AM. But we checked out around 8:30AM and left our bags in the free locker of our hotel. (Which was a huge mistake... find out why here)
Our first sightseeing stop is...
GORA PARK
Gora Park is just 2 cable car stations away from where our hotel is located. By the time we got at the park, it was not open yet.
We walked in at Daily Mart and bought some more noodles. Chanced upon a good looking stray cat in the area too.
Gora Park opens daily from 9AM-5PM. It has an entry fee of 550 Yen. Free admission if you have Hakone Free Pass.
It's just a small park, with a huge fountain at the center. The flowers are not in full bloom since it's autumn season. Nonetheless, it's a relaxing place to see. There's also a craft house inside.
Our second stop is...
HAKONE OPEN AIR MUSEUM
This was the start of our messed up decision making. We finished touring Gora Park at 10AM. Google maps says that the open air museum is a good 15-20 minutes walk and is also suggesting that we can take a bus or take the train. We chose the bus, but we waited for the bus to arrive for a freaking 15 minutes already and still it did not come. We ended up walking instead. And that ate our precious 35 minutes.
We also found out that there are many coin lockers at Gora Park and Hakone Open Air Museum. We shouldn't have left our bags at the hotel. #ICry
The entrance fee at the Open Air Museum is 1,600 Yen. You get a discounted price of 1,400 Yen with the Hakone Free Pass.
The open air museum is just a brilliant idea showcasing both the beauty of nature, the picturesque view of the mountains and the creativeness of each artworks on its grounds. It's like a huge park with cool artworks here and there.
Third stop...
LUNCH
We were just too happy that there were a few restaurants lined up near the museum. We were lucky to stumbled upon Cafe Douce. It is an unassuming cafe with lots of brilliance. The owners are nice. The wife cooks perfect pasta for our taste. The cake served was so good, it wasn't too sweet which was perfect for my taste. The salad was delicious. The tea, awesome. Everything was just perfect. We felt that the time stood still while we were having our perfect and delicious lunch - with the 90's music on the background.
We were really having the best time of our lives, except, the time never really stood still. We forgot about the time. It was already 11:20AM. We have to go back and fetch our things at the hotel. We have a 2:08PM shinkansen trip to catch up. Going back to our hotel, will take us about 30 minutes. From our hotel, we need to take the cable car, the hakone tozan line train, change train to odawara station, pick up our luggage at the coin locker in Daiyuzan Line. 2 hours is not enough. So the burning question is, yeah, What if you miss your Shinkansen???
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