First Japan Trip | Day 2 Kawaguchiko | Rakuyu onsen, Hoto, Fuji-san view at lyashi-no-Sato, Kaiseki

Day 2 Vlog – We took the Fuji express from Shinjuku to Lake Kawaguchiko to look for the icon of Japan. We slurped down Hoto noodles, a signature of the Yamanashi area, saw a wonderful view of Fuji-san from Iyashi-no-Sato, and enjoyed our first Japan onsen experience at the beautiful ryokan, Rakuyu. The day closed with Kaiseki dinner and some highball.

00:00 Introduction
01:39 Fuji Kawaguchiko Onsen Rakuyu
https://goo.gl/maps/5Qayiy4UZMvfVJgw7
02:32 Hotou Fudo Kawaguchiko Station
https://goo.gl/maps/SrVzkNCgpZt7Pjf19
03:30 Gateway Fujiyama (souvenir shopping)
https://goo.gl/maps/6DVcXYdEYFrwrPZy7
05:19 Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba (open air museum and craft shops)
https://goo.gl/maps/yPnmSL7JYKV1uFHYA
09:21 Rakuyu Japanese style room with private bathtub tour
11:25 Rakuyu kaiseki dinner

#japantravelvlog #onsen #mountfuji

We got the tickets for the 8.30 Fuji Express on the same morning. This train goes to Kawaguchiko station from Shinjuku. But the JR pass will only cover until Otsuki. We had the breakfast we got from Muji last night. See you later Tokyo. At Otsuki, we stayed on the same train.

We paid the conductor in cash for the second leg to Kawaguchiko, since the second leg is owned by Fujikyu Railway, not JR. Still raining heavily when we arrived = No Fuji-san 🙁 We head to the information center as they can help us call our Ryokan for pickup. Our ride came in less than 10min. Ladies have the pleasure of picking out their yukata. Our room was not ready so we dropped off our luggage and head out for early lunch. The car service to the station does not run between 11am and 3pm. So we took a leisurely walk through town. We started with pork innards stew with koniyaku. And super tender beef tendons.

This is Hoto, a classic noodle dish in the Yamanashi area. It’s filled with vegetables. Very comforting in this rainy weather. The restaurant is right across Kawaguchiko station. We needed more cash so we head to this bank. There’s a currency exchange machine. We had time to spare while waiting for our bus.

So we did some eye-shopping in the station store. There are a lot of Fuji-themed cookies. There were also a lot of shine muscat grape products. We regret not getting some. Bought some ice cream as dessert. Finally got on the scheduled bus. So happy that the sky is clearing up.

We are going over to Lake Saiko area. We arrived at Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba after 40min. It’s an open air museum in the form of a village. We could enter many of the huts freely to explore on our own. Some huts have artisans and their artworks. Samurai and Kimono experience can be pre-booked.

And guess what… Fuji-san 😀 But the clouds came back really quickly. We waited for the same bus to take us back to our ryokan area. It was worth the long bus ride. Peek-a-boo. This steep slope is the only complaint in reviews about our ryokan. The sun is out to play…at 4pm.

The ryokan is right next to the cable car. Our luggage was already in our room. Welcome gift 🙂 View is almost the same as the lobby. There’s even men’s skincare. Here comes the highlight~ We chilled in the room for the rest of the afternoon. Kaiseki time!

The ryokan gave us a complimentary drink 🙂 slippery x) We took a quick tour around our floor after dinner. Private onsen is available here. Then we headed back for an early night. But not before a nightcap.