Tokyo Escapade 2013 – Day 8 (Hakone / Asakusa / Akihabara)

January 25, 2021 Holden

21 February 2013, Thursday

It was Day 8 of my trip and I would be heading back to Tokyo today. But before that, I decided to visit an onsen in the morning since Hakone is an area rich with hot springs. After checking out of my lovely Fuji-Hakone Guest House, I took a bus at 8:52am to Hakone-Yumoto station, arriving about half an hour later.

From there, I transferred to another bus, alighting at Oku Yumoto Iriguchi stop at 9:54am after a 10-minute ride. All internal transport within Hakone was covered by my 2-day Hakone Free Pass so I didn’t have to pay for the bus rides.

Good morning, from my *minshuku* in Hakone

The bus ride from Hakone-Yumoto station to Oku Yumoto Iriguchi took 10 minutes

There are several onsens in Hakone and I picked one called Tenzan Onsen (click here). As usual, you buy your entrance ticket from a vending machine at the entrance. Regular admission fee is JPY 1,200 (S$16.32) for adults, but I got a JPY 100 discount with my Hakone Free Pass. As I was carrying my luggage with me, I deposited them at the reception before heading to the baths.

Buy your entrance ticket from this vending machine

The Hakone Free Pass entitled me to a JPY 100 discount off the regular price

Tenzan is located at the base of a hill, right beside the Sukomo River. Set amid lush greenery, it is very tranquil and relaxing. The building architecture is classic Japanese, with lots of wood everywhere. There is also a reading room and a nice tatami resting area where you can take a nap or meditate after your bath.

You can rent a *yukata* or towel here if you need one

Shoe locker to deposit your shoe before entering the bath area

You can take a nap at this tatami area after your bath

Even though it was a sunny morning, it was still rather cold. It felt wonderful to soak and relax in the hot spring while listening to the sounds of nature. Tenzan was really lovely and it lived up to my expectations of what an onsen should be like. So glad I went!

Tenzan Onsen is located right beside the Sukomo River

At 12pm, I took a bus back to Hakone-Yumoto station. I then hopped on the train at 12:20pm and made my way to Shinjuku. However, my journey was cut short as I was forced to alight at Hon-Atsuji station 45 minutes later. Unbeknownst to me, I had boarded the Limited Express Romance Car instead of the regular local or express train by mistake!

Yesterday, I had taken the Romance Car from Shinjuku to Hakone. I paid an additional fee of JPY 870 for the Romance Car but I didn’t know that it was for a single trip instead of a round trip. It was only when the train attendant came around to check our tickets that my mistake was revealed. I apologised and quickly got off the train at the next stop. I then boarded the Rapid Express train at 1:23pm and arrived safely in Shinjuku at 2:10pm. What a blunder!

From Shinjuku, I transferred to the JR line to get to Asakusa, arriving at 2:50pm. For my second stint in Asakusa, I booked a different hostel called K’s House Tokyo Oasis (click here). It was located just a short distance away from Sakura Hostel, where I stayed at a few days ago.

For my two-night stay at K’s House, I booked a five-bed dorm room at JPY 2,900 (S$39.44) per night. It was slightly more expensive than Sakura Hostel but nicer. The lobby was equipped with computer terminals that you could use, as well as books and brochures on Japan. The pantry provided free tea and coffee, and the lounge area was also very comfy, a nice place to watch TV, chill and use the free Wi-Fi. The dorm room was basic but cosy enough.

Comes with an attached sink where you can wash up

After dropping my bags, I went out to explore the immediate Asakusa area. I walked to Sensō-ji to get another look at the majestic temple. I also browsed the shops at Nakamise-dori and tried some of the snacks there.

Passed by Asakusa Mokubakan, a theatre where traditional Japanese performances are being staged

I craved for Taiyaki, a fish-shaped snack filled with sweet azuki red bean paste. I found a stall selling it and was happy to sink my teeth into it.

Taiyaki is one of my favourite Japanese snacks…love it!

I then saw a long queue at a shop called Asakusa Menchi so I joined the queue to see what the fuss was about. The Menchi Katsu is a breaded and deep-fried ground meat patty, like a croquette. It is topped with Japanese mustard sauce to give it additional flavour. The pork filling was quite tasty but it was generally quite juicy but oily, so I wasn’t crazy about it.

It’s a deep-fried croquette with minced pork and onion fillings

I was still hungry so I searched for a place to satisfy my sushi craving. I found a typical conveyor belt sushi restaurant and took a seat at the bar counter. I simply love eating sushi in Japan because the portions are very generous, with the fish slices spilling well over the rice, unlike some of the measly ones you get at sushi restaurants in Singapore.

This cup is very useful because it has the names of common sushi types

After a satisfying meal, I took the Ginza Line on the Tokyo Metro from Asakusa and alighted at Kyobashi station. My mission was to locate the shop at Tokyo train station to buy the highly-coveted Tokyo Banana snack. Back in 2013, the snack wasn’t as readily available as it is now and it was sold only at a few places besides the airport.

Kiyobashi is located between the upmarket Ginza and Nihombashi. The area is dominated by high-end boutiques and shopping centres, which is not really my kind of thing. From Kiyobashi, I walked for less than 10 minutes and arrived at Tokyo station. It is one of the busiest stations in Tokyo as it serves the Tokyo Metro and JR lines as well as being the terminal station for several shinkansen high-speed rail lines.

High-end shopping at the Kiyobashi/Ginza area

Takashimaya department store at Nishombashi

After much searching, I finally found the Gift Kiosk. I was astonished to see so many flavours of Tokyo Banana available and I had a hard time deciding which ones to buy. As this was my second trip to Japan, I was still very excited about Tokyo Banana. I ended up buying at least one box of each flavour and left the shop a very happy customer, but also very broke.

Finally found the gift kiosk at Tokyo station

With my mission accomplished, I left Tokyo station and went to Akihabara, just two stops and three minutes away on the JR Line. Akihabara is a busy shopping district famous for electronics, Japanese anime, manga and video games. Gamers will love it here because Japan is the birthplace of the iconic Sega, Nintendo and Sony PlayStation game consoles.

The iconic Sega Akhihabara building (which closed in August 2020)

Besides video games, Akihabara is also the epicentre of Japanese popular culture. Right outside the JR Akihabara Station is the huge AKB48 Café & Shop. AKB48 is an all-female idol group with (supposedly) 48 members and they are immensely popular in Japan. There is also a Gundam Café, where fans of the Japanese robot anime can dine among Gundam statues and sip on coffee with latte art of their favourite robots.

For me, I am not really a fan of anime and games but it was worth checking Akihabara out. I was more excited by the buzz and energy of the place. I walked past a shop selling cheese hot dogs and I got hungry again. I was very happy when the actual product turned out to be even better than the poster. Yummy!