Tokyo Trip Day 2: Kawaguchiko Station and Hotel

It was already as bright as day at 4.30am early in the morning in Tokyo. Luckily for the rising sun, we got up early and took a taxi from our hotel to Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal, hoping to catch the 7.40am bus to Fuji-Kawaguchiko (富士山河口湖).

There are two ways to get to Kawaguchiko, either by train or by bus. Taking the train is more expensive and it would take longer to get there. So I opted for the bus ride, which cost 1700 yen per pax and takes around 1 hour 45 mins journey. 

Bus from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko information:
http://highway-buses.jp/fuji/

After a pleasant ride on the bus, we arrived at Kawaguchiko Station. The station itself is a pleasant little place to visit, it comprises:- tourist information center, highway bus/ retro bus/ train ticket counter, restaurant, souvenir shop, locker storage, restrooms, etc. We had our breakfast there and were busy eating the special flavoured icecreams. We also bought almost all of our souvenirs there, they were so reasonably priced compared to Tokyo!

I also bought the hop-on-hop-off 2 day pass retro bus ticket from the bus station for 1500 yen each. The retro bus is such a cheap and convenient way to travel around Lake Kawaguchiko (red line) and Lake Saiko (green line) area. The bus stops are numbered properly throughout the map and you need only check with the bus driver where you are going once you board the bus.

Some pictures of Kawaguchiko Station:


Our second stay was at Hotel Koryu, right beside Lake Kawaguchi. My mom and I had a very enjoyable stay there. Although a bit old-fashioned, the place was kept tidy and clean. The staff were pleasant and kind and could understand some basic English. The hotel is breastfeeding friendly - there was a freezer in our room to store the breastmilk. The room we stayed in was spacious and had all the facilities required - even a couple sink! The best part about the hotel is that they have 3 onsens - 2 public and 1 private. That means we didn't need to go out in search of an onsen, we could indulge in the onsen whenever we wanted! Also, we didn't even need to book the private onsen (3000 yen for 50 minutes), we had the 2nd floor onsen practically all to ourselves! The onsen is sooooooooo nice and relaxing. A slight disadvantage is that we couldn't view Mt. Fuji from the hotel itself.. but just a short 5-min walk down the road would suffice to see Fuji on a clear day.

Our room:

I love the thick, comfy futons and  sleeping on tatami mat. After coming out from hot onsen, dressed in yukata, turn on the air-con in the room and cover myself with the futons and go to dreamland... ahhhhh the feeling is just soooooooo heavenly!!!

The second-floor onsen:
There is a lovely pink rose blooming in the onsen

I really wished that we could have done Tokyo first and put Kawaguchiko at the last days of our trip. It would have made such a relaxing and enjoyable end to our trip.

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