Japan Pilgrimage II Day 7 - Guest Blogged by 浪迹天涯小狗

Warning: Image Intensive but improving..


My VIP seat on Mistress's SDLL!
Yeah that's where I swung around utilising puke bags for most of the trip.

WE'RE GOING TO AN ONSEN RESORT TODAY!~


As we're checking out House of Ikebukuro for the day while we go onsen experiencing, the animals spent a bit of last night packing for their day trip and stuffing all their loots into the luggage which will be deposited at the dining area of the hostel for a night.


Street where we stayed

Stopped by the first bakery on our way to the JR line for a quick bite and for RR's coffee fix.


Nice salmon egg mayo sandwich but its on the expensive end..


On the train to Lake Kawaguchi!


Kawaguchiko Station, away from the hustle & bustle of Tokyorites.




The Kawaguchiko Area Tour Retro Bus that is our main transport in Kawaguchiko area.


Mt Fuji spotted! On a lamppost...


Alighted at Sightseeing Boat and Ropeway Iriguchi stop for the cablecar to get an aerial view of Lake Kawaguchi.


Mistress still missing her Diana Mini..


Tenjō-Yama Park Mt. Kachi Kachi Ropeway


Mascots of ropeway, spawning from the Japan folklore, Kachikachi-yama

You need to know the folklore to understand why the rabbit is doing what he is doing, if not the rabbit just simply seems sadistic, like in the animals' eyes.


The evil tanuki on top of the cablecar that we took.


Light Diffusion


Aerial view of Lake Kawaguchi from the cable car


Quite a few displays modeled after the folklore can be found at the end of the Ropeway.
Now we know why...


Tied by the farmer apparently, but it looks SM when you are ignorant of the folklore.


Haha! Sadistic rabbit~


On top of the world.. or rather, Mt Kachi Kachi!


Evil tanuki looking innocent


Pondering rabbit, probably thinking of ways to make the tanuki suffer.


On our descent.


Light diffusion again, this time changing the sky colors~


The rabbit is on top of the other cable car.


Mistress is kicking herself..


Manmade waterfall, but the force of the water gushing really sound terrifying.


Another version of the Retro Sightseeing Bus.


The animals stopped at this restaurant on the 2nd floor of 吉島屋 for lunch.
Authentic Hoto Noodles on the signboard was what attracted them.


Hoto Noodles, a region specialty.
Mistress says it simply tastes like Japan branded ban mian..


The lake, the swan boats, but missing Mt Fuji...


The sky's getting dark but we've only gone to ONE attraction!
The wind started to get really terrible at this time and the animals sought refugee at the Sightseeing Boat booth while waiting for the bus.


The lake and foreboding skies

Continued on our journey and alighted at Ukai Music Forest next.



Entrance fees is pretty expensive at 1,300 yen per adult but the environment is just amazing.


Some sculptures at the entrance to set the mood.


Seems like can be found in those places where they had gargoyles sculptures on the roofs.


Spotted a humming bird!
The animals initially thot it was some gigantic mutant of a bee/wasp but turns out to be a miniature harmless bird and were subsequently searching all over the flower pot to trace its rapid moves.


The huge music boxes/contraceptions that greeted us when we set foot in the auditorium.


Some of the figures that most probably used to be decorations on another huge huge music producing device.


Long before the days of mp3, we have portable music boxes!


We actually din bother to read the descriptions as we were too awed by the grandness of it all.


The biggest music box of all, the entire auditorium!


The setting outside the auditorium (the building in the picture).
Enjoying European feel in Japan~


One of the music boxes that has seen some history.


Another hall housing more music boxes.


Music box built to play Wedding March


Mistress didnt manage to get a good shot here but the little figures inside are flocks of birds.


The animals skipped 2nd floor so I dunno what's up there..


Man-made rapids which probably leads to the lake.


Swan in the lake! There's a pair of them.


A chapel within the compounds


Must be a hotspot for wedding solemnisations or phototaking
The transparent cross is nice but its not showing up too well on the camera.


Cat sculptures on the roof






Mistress gets to macro-ing flowers again.




Spotted: Another Great View sign! Now its Superb View.. (-_-; )
I don't suppose its anything good..


See! Another Superb View con!


Missing Fuji-san!!


Silhoulette in the setting sun

The animals rushed back to the auditorium upon hearing melodies throughout the compounds.


The figures around the auditorium are actually part of the music box and they do move and make sounds in tandem with the main piece!


The main music contraception. Very very elaborate.

The bunch of us returned to Kawaguchiko Station via the Retro Bus where we're supposed to be picked up by the resort's shuttle service but alas, we had missed the last bus and we can only either take a cab there or wait for the next Retro Bus, which by then we would have missed our dinner.

So, left without a choice, we hopped into one of the cabs that were queuing at the station and requests to go to Sunnide Resort Hotel.

Along the way, we covered most part of the same route that the Retro Bus took and we were kicking ourselves for not accepting the cab driver's offer over at Ukai Music Forest, which could have saved us quite a few buckeroos.

Anyway, about 10 minutes later, we reached the lobby of Sunnide Resort Hotel..


With an astonishing number on the meter!!
2,240 yen is S$36! For a 10 min ride!!


Ouch! The 36 bucks piece of paper..

Following photos courtesy of RR.
It was super cold and drizzling by then so RR said no point we bring so many cameras for a dinner, which requires us to walk to a small building opposite our room.
I think Mistress was simply lazy already..


Our room at Sunnide Resort (If I nvr hear wrongly, I think the reception pronounced it as "Sunny Day")
Dinner's at 7 or 7.30pm, and the animals had quite a while to waste before then, so they went channel surfing, onsen instruction reading, ocha drinking, etc etc.


Our menu for the preordered Japanese dinner, which the animals never notice and thot it was "fine dining" with only the tray below that was set up before we arrived. (－。－；)


Assorted Appetizer with Aperitif, which is the small goblet of sweet wine at the top of the tray.


5 Kinds of Assorted Sashimi


Very very yums lobster sashimi


Rice, Soup & Japanese pickles


Steamed Pork with Vegetables in Bamboo Basket


The steamed pork


Ingredients for the soup, some noodles & a piece of eggroll


Close up on the ingredients IN the eggroll


Chawanmushi


Tempura


Mistress with a piece of nicely crafted unidentified nom nom.


Another piece of I-dunno-what-but-tastes-good


Carpaccio Japanese Style
The veggies on Mistress's plate was teleported to someone elses.
Think it was RR's.


Mistress's favorite roes!


Desserts which the animals forced down even thou they're already full to their nose.
That looks like one expensive piece of melon to me...

The sumptuous-est meal that Mistress had ever had. Yums as well. Definitely worth the expensive resort stay the animals splurged on!


The futons were laid out neatly when we returned to the room after the extravagant dinner and its time for ONSEN!!

No, no onsen photos. I wasn't even allowed to follow them!!

The animals changed into the yukatas and hantens provided before braving the cold and the drizzle along the short path to the onsen.

I stayed guarding the room while they went to enjoy themselves. Mistress filled me up on the happenings..

The cold wind was literally freezing the toes off Mistress's feet but thankfully, the yukata & hanten was actually quite heat retaining despite its looks.

The onsen was occupied by a group of obasans when the animals reached but they soon cleared out of the place when Mistress & gang were done stripping and showering and soon they had the onsen to themselves and another visitor.

Shy/inexperienced as the 3 girls were, at stripping naked in public, well, they enjoyed the onsen tremendously, especially the outdoor one, where the air is freaking cold from the drizzle but the body is submerged in warm waters. Hoho~

Damn u Mistress.. Me wan!!

After the soakings, they crowded around the vending machine exchanging yens for some milk to end up the onsen experience Japanese style. Such enjoyment!~

Mistress had a good night's sleep in her yukata, probably bcos she's the nearest to the window, but the other animals were complaining that the yukata got very hot in the middle of the night.

The snoring pig din realise... hoho~