CONTINUATION OF DAY 4 (March 12, 2016) | En route to Tokyo, Ikebukuro

The duration of our travel from Miyajimaguchi Station was more than 5 hours. If I am not mistaken, we arrived in Sunshine Prince Hotel at Ikebukuro past 6pm already. We first rode the train from Miyajimaguchi Station to Hiroshima Station (25 mins.) then in Hiroshima Station, we took the 11:53AM Sakura 546 Shinkansen to Shin-Kobe Station (around 1hr and 20 mins). From there, we took the 1:25PM Hikari 470 Shinkansen to Shinagawa Station (around 3 hrs and 8 mins). In Shinagawa Station, we were supposed to take another train that is closer to Odaiba Waterfront because our officemates would be there at around 5pm. Unfortunately, the Hikari 470 Shinkansen had technical problems, which stalled the trip for around 20-30 minutes. We arrived in Shinagawa Station past 5pm already and since our officemates would be heading back to the hotel, we decided to head straight to the hotel as well. Sunshine City Prince Hotel was not exactly beside the exit of Ikebukuro Station so we kind of got lost for a few minutes. Thank you again to the kind Japanese man who took his time to lead us to where the hotel is located.

And yes, I literally had to retrieve my bullet train tickets from my travel envelope to give you such an accurate travel time and route information. 

Nica, Jj and I bought lunch in the 7Eleven in Hiroshima Station. I think this was chicken katsudon (?!) and of course, my favorite Fanta melon drink! I miss that Fanta flavor so much!!! I also just have to say that convenience store meals in Japan are delicious AND pretty affordable.

We also bought this Tom Yum chips in 7Eleven and we tried eating it during the bullet train ride. We stopped after a few bites though because it was too noisy (and the train was so quiet!) and it had a certain smell lol.

How I spent that more than 3-hr Shinkansen ride... sleep nonstop!

As I've mentioned, we arrived in the hotel past 6pm. Our workmates were waiting for us because we would be going out for dinner so we just dropped our things in our room then off we went! Also, our luggage were delivered already when we got to Sunshine Prince Hotel. The luggage arrived before us lol! What a convenient and reliable system, right?

For this part of the trip, we were already in a tour group. Our tour guide already reserved a restaurant for our dinner place and it was located near the shopping area of Sunshine City, which was a couple of blocks away from the hotel. We ate in a BBQ restaurant where you grill the meat/fish/seafood you ordered. The meal was tasty and very filling! It definitely made our (Nica, Jj and I) tummies happy after that loooong travel time.

(Got this photo from Anna, one of my workmates) Lala, Anna, Nica, Me and Jj in the place where we had our dinner!

(Got this photo from Alyne, one of my workmates, from L-R:Alyne, Nica, Anna, Cha, Me, Lala and Gerald) This was taken in front of the restaurant where we had our dinner. The name of the restaurant is on the signage behind us.

After dinner we just strolled around the area. We spent a good amount of time at the 5-storey (!!!) Don Quixote store near one of the exits of Ikebukuro Station. Don Quixote is one of my favorite shops in Japan because it sells literally anything! A floor for make-up and skin care products, another floor for Japanese snacks and chocolates, another floor for bags and accessories, etc... plus a tax-free counter for tourists? Count me in! First night in Ikebukuro and I was already carrying a huge plastic bag filled with Japanese chocolates to bring back home. No regrets! There were also stalls around near Sunshine City Plaza selling affordable Green Tea and Dark Chocolate KitKat packs. 3 packs for ¥550 only! That's less than PhP100 per pack. (S&R sells the same item for around PhP200 per pack.) There was a limit of 6 packs per customer per transaction though, perhaps to avoid hoarding. You could still buy the next day if you reach the limit for the specific transaction (we did!).

There was a vending machine near our room and look what we found! We didn't exactly know what this was when we got it but it was refreshing. Based on my research, it's actually gin and tonic!

DAY 5 (March 13, 2016) | Oshino Hakkai, Gotemba Premium Outlets, Oedo Onsen Monogatari, Harajuku, Golden Gai

Our first official stop for the tour was Oshino Hakkai. We rode a tour bus and it took us around an hour to reach Oshino Hakkai from Sunshine City Prince Hotel. According to this, "Oshino Hakkai (忍野八海) is a touristy set of eight ponds in Oshino, a small village in the Fuji Five Lake region." On sunny days, you would be able to see Mt. Fuji from this place. However, when we went there, the sky was cloudy and foggy so we didn't get to see Mt. Fuji. All is well, though!! Oshino Hakkai is still a scenic destination, perfect for photo ops. Since it's a tourist spot, a number of restaurants, souvenir shops and stalls (giving free taste of peach tea... which tastes delicious!) are within the area as well.

One of the ponds in Oshino Hakkai

I don't exactly know what this is but it looks pretty, right? 

Take photos anywhere because the lighting was great~

What a quaint village! Look at the background and look at how foggy it was as well.

Some of the snacks being sold there

We only spent around an hour in Oshino Hakkai because we still had to go to other tourist destinations. That is the downside of being in a tour -- you wouldn't be able to stay in one place for a long time to take everything in because you have a schedule you should strictly follow. The schedule is usually filled to the last minute so stalling around is a big NO! 

Our lunch place was somewhere near Gotemba Premium Outlets already. We had a traditional Japanese meal complete with noodles + soup, fish, rice + viands and side dishes. 

I love that green seasoning thing you put on the rice! It's actually called "furikake." I wish I bought some home...

Gotemba Premium Outlets was our next stop after lunch. I actually have ZERO photos for this part because we only had around 2 hrs to go around the huge place. Of course the priority was to score some good finds and not to take photos! To cut things short, I bought Ray-Ban sunglasses for myself and a G-Shock watch for my brother. Looking back, I should've bought something from Lacoste or Nike/Adidas as well because I was actually able to find nice deals. I guess I was too overwhelmed with the number of stores and the time pressure looming around.

We got on the tour bus after shopping and had a 1-hr trip back to Tokyo for our last destination for the day: Oedo Onsen Monogatari. Oedo Onsen Monogatari, from the name itself, is filled with various onsen/hot springs -- from full body bath to foot bath, you can try it here! For a full onsen experience, the place resembles a traditional Japanese village. I've read that the design of the place was inspired by the Edo Period in Japan. You will wear a yukata (a traditional Japanese garment) while roaming around barefoot to heighten the experience.

Aside from the hot springs, there are also food and souvenir stalls inside Oedo Onsen Monogatari. One of my biggest regrets during my Japan trip was NOT being able to try the hot springs!! I mean, hey, we were already there... why didn't I try it?! Well... what happened was, some of my workmates and I were too busy playing with the photo machine (we really wanted a ~kawaii~ photo ok! because it's so Japanese!) that we missed the time when our tour group went to the hot springs. When we found them, it was already time for dinner. :( Anyway, more reason for me to go to Japan again, yes? YES!