日本旅記- 箱根一日遊

這天是由我表弟帶路，所以選擇了去些遠的地方。由東京市到箱根需時大概兩個半鐘。我們這天一早就乘搭火車，這叫 Romance Car 的火車我猜不是浪得虛名的，只是我們看不到。Romance Car 走的路線，如我沒猜錯的話，應該會經過一座座種滿櫻花的山，(看到火車站上的海報和車裡的免費雜誌聯想到的) 可惜我們去那天，還沒開花呢。  It takes approximately two and a half hours to go from Tokyo to Hakone.  We took the train- Romance Car early in the morning.  The Romance Car has its name (I am guessing this from what I see from posters and magazines), most likely due to the beautiful sakura scenery passengers are going to see on the route during Spring time.  However, we were too early for Sakura season at that time. Pity. 

From Day3_Hakone: Train ride from Tokyo to Hakone by the Odakyu RomanceCar.

From Day3_Hakone: Free magazine from the train

From Day3_Hakone: Scenery during the train ride

From Day3_Hakone: Way to the washrooms 我對這段火車旅程的滿足度是很高的。坐位寬闊，空氣清新，日本人說話也不會很噪吵。真的能夠一個靜靜的享受。還有，他們的洗手間很整潔乾爽，上洗手間的路不會狹窄，通度光亮，木色的門和牆令人有種舒適柔和的感覺。要知道，我對洗手間的質數是很嚴厲的，在日本的洗手間一般衛生和設計水準也是高的。我很安心。One of the many things that I like about this train is their washrooms.  The passage was bright and clean and it has wooden finishings.  I am very picky in terms of washrooms and I am very happy with the hygiene standards japanese have in general. 表弟想帶我們去大涌谷，那是溫泉地帶。所以下火車後還要坐攬車和吊車上山。 My cousin wanted to take us to see the hotspring area of Hakone, so after departing from the train, we took the tram and gondola to reach to the top of the mountain.

From Day3_Hakone: Another ride up the tram to the deep mountains

From Day3_Hakone: Yet another ride on the gondola

From Day3_Hakone: Japanese curry with thermal spring egg

那天天氣比較寒冷，我們又沒吃很多早餐，所以到山頂後肚子已在打鼓了。山頂有間餐廳，我們就進去吃個早午飯啦！他們的特色菜是日式咖哩飯配溫泉蛋。入坐時也已經聞到一陣陣咖哩的香，所以我們差不多全部人都毫不猶豫地叫了這個。溫泉蛋的煮法是把蛋浸在天然的溫泉水裡，時間溫度要調較得好，蛋才會滑滑的。因為是用溫泉水，所以煮出來的蛋又些少礦物質味的。味道獨特，我挺喜歡的！！The weather was cold and our stomach were all grouwing for food!! So we stopped by one of the restaurant on the mountain to have an early lunch.  Most of us ordered their signature dish, Japanese curry with thermal hotspring egg.  The eggs were cooked by immersing in natural hotspring water, resulting in a unique but light aroma of thermal water/mud.  The uniqueness about these eggs in Hakone is that they are black on the outside!

From Day3_Hakone: Hello Kitty dressed up as thermal egg

Hello Kitty 相信大家也很熟悉，在日本當然不難看到這個娃娃。我不是 Hello kitty 的粉絲（我喜歡丁噹的！），但也覺得這個裝成黑蛋的 Hello kitty 挺可愛的。Hello Kitty is a famous icon in Japan (and throughout different asian countries), this one dressed up like the Hakone thermal egg! I am not a big fan of Hello Kitty (I heart Doraemon!!!), but this one is pretty cute.

從這條路就上半山....On our way up to the moutain.

From Day3_Hakone: One of the major attraction in Hakone

大涌谷看來是箱根的旅遊地方。能夠看到地熱和湖。不過其實這些對在紐西蘭長大的我不太新鮮。This valley is one of the major attraction in Hakone.  You get to see the thermal steam and pool up close.  They are not new to me though, as I spent my teenage period in another country famous for their volcanic scenery, New Zealand (aaww....I miss NZ!!!!!).

From Day3_Hakone: My 3rd thermal egg of the day

在山上繞了一圈就餓了，可能是因為天氣冷的影響。所以，我們又買了溫泉蛋吃，這是我那天第三隻蛋！！這個是全熟的。我很少吃全熟的蛋黃，但這個吃起來不錯。在冷天氣用手抱著蛋蛋感覺好幸福的唷！After a brief walk up the mountain area we settle our stomach with snacks again! This is the third thermal spring egg I had on that day!! This one is well-done though, not watery, but fresh in that the egg shell was still hot when we bought it.

From Day3_Hakone: Cruise on the "pirate" ship

看完了地熱，我們就開始回程了。這次我們坐船，這首船起得像海盜那種的！！本來在船上期望能夠看到著名的富士山，但天實在太多雲，過了不久還下起雨來，看不到山了。不過，我在雜誌看過，在好天的話搭這系列的船，看到富士山那景是十分美麗的。下次吧，希望與這山有緣，再看。After enjoying the hotspring scenery, we went back via a cruise.  However, the weather was rather gloomy and didn't get to show its best.  Because from this route we are suppose to see Mt. Fuji on the opposite end, but it was too cloudy and we didnt' see anything at all.... :'( Oh well, better luck next time.


我們也沒有再搭 Romance Car 了，因為挺貴的。所以我們坐旅遊巴了，沒甚麼人，很舒服的！又安靜。回程時看到很多溫泉旅館，還是小王子博物館。我下次一定會來的！！！We didn't go back to Tokyo via Romance Car (it is quite pricy), we took a coach bus instead and enjoyed the quiet and stable ride back to Tokyo.  Along on the way back, I saw other major attractions of Hakone, like hotspring hotels, and The Little Prince Museum, both which I would LOVE to go, next time when I go back to this lovely place.

From Day4_Odaiba: We reached Shinjuku after the Hakone day trip for dinner

晚飯我們在新宿吃。新宿是一個充滿美食和購物的地方！！We went to Shinjuku for dinner.  This is a lovely suburb with major shopping streets and foooood!!!

From Day4_Odaiba: My cousin took us to this japanese hotpot (shabushabu) buffet place

表弟帶我們去吃自助火鍋，每位 1500 日元，價錢公道（其實很便宜！）雖然肉和菜的種類不多（肉只有牛，雞和豬，蔬菜菇類大概十款），但這個價錢不能夠要求太多了！！My cousin took us to this buffet hotpot place called Nabezo.  the pricy is very friendly (1500 yen per person) for a buffet, although the choice of meat (chicken, beef and pork) and veges + bean products are limited (I guess about 10 types), with 1500 yen, what more can you ask for?

From Day4_Odaiba: The food we ordered for the dinner 吃火鍋的醬汁對我來說是很重要的。這比火鍋湯底的重要程度是相等的。我覺得火鍋醬料的味道需要與肉／菜有良好的混合性，最好是能夠提升肉／菜原本的香氣。還有，醬汁需要能夠為灼熟了的肉塗加上滑質（我通常加生蛋）。我們有兩種醬汁，芝麻和淡淡的日本黑醋，兩個也加了少量的日本燒酒，味道很香，能夠讓味囊完全嘗到食品本質的鮮和甜。很好。The sauce that goes with hotpot is essential for me.  It is as important as the soup stock itself.  To me, the sauce should blend in with the taste of the cooked meat/vegetable, to soften the texture of the meat (I do this by adding raw eggs) and to enhance the aroma of the food.  The two sauces we had was the sesame sauce and a light vinegar sauce.  Both had a taste of japanese sake, which I Loveeeeee..... 我很喜歡喝熱的日本燒酒，和冷的梅酒，喜歡的程度是頂級！！！！可惜，身體不能夠讓我每餐都享受（如果唔係，你會看到我每餐也在喝了，哈哈）。但當然，少食多滋味。日本某牌子出的燒酒梅酒真的令人回味。我改天再介紹。現在想起心也癢癢的！！I am an absolute fan for japanese sake and plum wines....unfortunately, due to my health, I need to control my intake (otherwise, I would have them everyday, every meal!)...but quality out-weighs quantity, and I love good warm japanese sake!! 吃完飯，又是回酒店見周公了！