Asakusa, a famous tample town in Tokyo: part2

Kaminarimon

Hilton Odawara Resort & Spa: part1

I enjoyed a wonderful stay in Hilton Odawara Resort & Spa.

That has a nice spa including a Japanese-style one, "Onsen". Just 2 hotels of Hilton in Japan provide the Onsen, Niseko Village and here.

If you want to try the Onsen but don't have a plenty of time to travel in Japan, I recommend you stay here rather than Niseko. That's because here is much closer to Tokyo than Niseko.
The hotel www site shows the direction by way of the high-speed railway, Sinkansen. I think it's the simplest way.

Shinkansen has three diffrent types of service which depend on how many stops they have. A Nozomi service has the least stops. In contrast, a Kodama service stops every station. It runs every 30 minutes. If you have the Japan Railway Pass, you can take the Kodama service without any additonal fee.

Take the Kodama service to Odawara from Tokyo area.

It takes 40 minutes to Odawara. If  the weather is fine, you can enjoy the view of Mt. Fuji to the right-hand side.

Change to the shuttle bus at Odawara station. It runs every 1 hour. Note that the shuttle bus runs on weekdays only.

I'll show you another way to Hilton Odawara. It's the way to use the regional train service, Tokaido line. Take the Tokaido line to Nebukawa from Tokyo area or Odawara.

Note that you need to take a LOCAL or RAPID service bound for ATAMI. Express service doesn't stop at Nebukawa.

The Tokaido line service has both 1st class and 2nd class. The 1st class service is called "Green Car" and operated with a double-deck car.

If you get on the upper deck in the 1st class car, you can enjoy the wonderful ocean view to the left-hand side between Odawara and Nebukawa.

Nebukawa is the small and tiny station along the coast line.

Getting off the train at Nebukawa, you can easily find the shuttle bus stop in front of the station.  The bus runs every 20 or 30 minutes.

Wedding reception

I attended a wedding reception. It was held at Hilltop Hotel, which is the well-known hotel in Tokyo. Many intellectuals  love this hotel to get away from it all.
Foods and drinks are excellent. I really enjoyed it.

 

Hilton Tokyo

I love it's atmosphere.

Asakusa, a famous tample town in Tokyo: part1

I stayed 1 night at Asakusa View Hotel. That has an fantastic view. You can see Sensoji temple just under the hotel and a distance view of Mt. Fuji.
The hotel has a nice bar, which is located at 26th floor.

Historical city, Kanazawa

I stayed 2 nights. I had dinner at Hotel Kanazawa. That was amazing!
I tried some wine made in Luxembourg.

Botter Brut

I like this Spumante!

Shop: Sogo (one of the major department store groups in Japan), Kashiwa Chiba, Japan
Price: 1,480JPY

Yosemite Road white chardonnay

Not good.

Cava

naveran

Cuve

Vallformosa classic brut 2010

Great!

St. Cousair Sparkling brut 2007

Fantastic! I had some duck and salmon too.

Shop: St. Cousair winery shop, Metro M Korakuen

Price: 5,000JPY

 

Hotel JAL City Kannai Yokohama

In Yokohama, there are some luxurious and fantastic hotels like Royal park, Intercontinental and Sheraton. If you are rich, you can stay at those hotels. That's a good idea. But, if you would like to save money, you'll stay at the smaller hotels located in Kannai or Yamashita-park area. Among those hotels, I recommend Hotel JAL City Kannai Yokohama because the rooms are comfortable and the price is really good -less than 10,000JPY. Adding that, the hotel is located near the station and the restaurant in the hotel is really nice.

room(1002)

dinner: at the restaurant in the hotel

Sparkling wine (by the glass)

Chef's selection (set dinner) for 7,000JPY (not including drinks)

Starter: Bagna cauda (Every vegetables are cultivated in Miura area which is south of Yokohama and one of the major farming areas around Tokyo, and fresh from the farm)

Pasta of the day: Vongole

White wine (by the glass): Villa Puccini Chardonnay 2011 (840JPY)

Mains(fish): Bouillabaisse -this was really amazing and excellent!!!

Mains(meat): Red wine beef stew with sauteed foie gras from Landes

Red wine (by the glass): Domaine du Mage Merlot-Syrah 2010 (840JPY)

Dessert: Patissier's grand dessert (some ice creams with some fruits) with coffee or tea

The restaurant has also a la calte menu and more reasonable set menu for one main(2,800JPY) or one main with a pasta(3,800JPY). You can choose the mains from about 10 or more dishes.

Wine list:
By the glass: a sparkling wine of the day, 2 reds and 2 whites. (840JPY)
Bottle: 2 half bottles and 3 bottles of sparkling wine, 8 reds and 8 whites (4000~6000JPY)

Also, some cocktails, beers and softdrinks are available.

direction:

1) From and to Haneda airport: See also this entry (from and to Yokohama city centre). Get off the Keikyu bus service to Red Brick Warehouse via Yamashita Park at Ohsanbashi bus stop which is the third stop. The hotel is 5 minutes' walk from Ohsanbashi bus stop.

2) From and to Narita airport: See also this entry (from and to Yokohama station). Take metro (called "Minatomirai Line") service to Motomachi-Chukagai and get off at Nihon-odori station. The hotel is 5 minutes' walk from Nihon-odori station. If you have a lot of luggage, you can take a taxi from Yokohama station. It takes 10~15mins and costs about 2,000JPY.