Kamakura

Today the weather was amazing! A day of incredible luck! I saw clouds over Mount Fuji! This time, I joined a day trip to Enoshima, Hakone, and Owakudani. We boarded the tour bus at 8 am and arrived at our first stop, Enoshima, around 10:30 am. The tour guide was fantastic—clear explanations and very considerate of the group, leading us all the way to the Iwaya (Iwakaya). The local specialty is the pufferfish. We didn't have much time there, so we just bought some seafood pancakes for lunch. Mount Fuji's white peak was clearly visible along the way. We visited the Sea Stone Cave and Sangen Shrine, and even saw the Shonan Bosozoku (a type of Japanese walking stick). At 12:25 pm, we headed to our second stop, Hakone, and boarded the pirate ship. Tickets were available in first class (allowing access to the bow) and economy class. The ship was quite impressive! The one-way trip took about 25 minutes. Then we took the cable car to Owakudani. The air was thick with the smell of sulfur. At the summit, we bought some black eggs to try (black-painted hard-boiled eggs). It was quite windy—it got chilly, feeling about 3 degrees Celsius. The entire trip began with the return journey at 16:00, arriving at Tokyo Station around 18:00.

From Haneda Airport to the Naeba Prince Hotel, because it was an evening flight, the trip was impromptu, and we couldn't get tickets for the Shinkansen, we found a private car through Kkday. Initially, we thought the price was a bit high, but at that time, it was the only option. Two days before departure, customer service provided relevant information via message. Since it was our first time traveling through Haneda Airport, we thought immigration would take a long time, like at Narita, and specifically reminded the driver not to arrive too early. However, immigration only took about 30 minutes, and Mr. Takahashi was already waiting at the entrance for the three-hour journey. The car was new, and Mr. Takahashi was very kind. When my child needed to use the restroom, we went to a 7-Eleven and bought some things. ❤️ It started snowing half an hour before we arrived at our destination. For this trip, we felt that choosing a private car was the best decision we could have made! 👍 Thank you so much for your service and Mr. Takahashi's service! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

It snowed heavily in Tokyo these past two days, and many itineraries were either blocked or completely covered by snow. There were also traffic jams and many cars skidding on the roads. Luckily, we met Zhang Ting, whose driving skills are excellent. He persevered for a long time (what should have been a 3-hour drive turned into 8 hours), remaining completely focused and helping us arrive safely at the attractions and return safely to the hotel. We are truly grateful to him for his continuous assistance throughout the journey, ensuring a rich experience despite the bad weather. Only the second day in Izu was sunny, and then it started snowing again in the afternoon… You can imagine how much more fun we would have had if the weather had been better. Regarding food, since I'm vegetarian, he patiently helped me communicate with the restaurant staff. In short, although the weather was bad, our tour guide was fantastic! 😊