Motosu

Today we woke up just before 5am. We have to catch the 7:35 am service to the Shibazakura Festival Site. While a bit groggy, we had a light breakfast then we purchased from the convenience store and then we performed our morning routines to get ready before heading out.

It was a cool morning as forecasted. There was blue and some sunshine today. Unfortunately they also state that the clouds will be back from around midday.

It was a lengthy walk to Shinjuku Express Highway Bus station, but once we got there it was a relaxing wait. It was like being in an airport, it had a departure board with all the relevant information and they also call out to the passengers via the annunciator.

It was a two and half bus trip. We were catching up on sleep on the way. The sun this morning was slowly getting covered by clouds. We passed by the Fuji Q Highlands amusement park and then the Kawaguchiko train/bus station that brought back fond memories of our transit there when we had a magical snow and autumn trees holiday back in 2016.

Luckily we managed to see Mt Fuji's majestic peak even for a while. There was a sudden change of mood in the bus as excited tourists seeing Mt Fuji for the first time kept taking snapshots of its snowcapped peak. By the time we arrived in the Shibazakura Festival site, it's peak has been blanketed by a thick layer of clouds.

It was nice to finally be out in the open away from the coughing passenger not far from where we were seated. We were grateful that she kept her mask on.

We had a lovely time at the Shibazakura site, there was a heart shaped flower bed of white Shibazakuras surrounded by bright pink variety. The there was a lake reflecting the site view lending it a romantic feeling. In the souvenirs area they offered free taste of Sakura flavoured savoury drink which warmed the guests. My sister purchased some sakura jam.

It wasn't long before lunchtime came. We found out that to order food we have to pay in a separate kiosk and then handover the ticket to the respective yatai (food truck). We selected a Belgian waffle style burger with some chips. For hot drinks I had some matcha latte and dad had some coffee while my sister and mom had some honey lemon black tea.

After we've had our fill we then walked around and took some more photos. There was a door frame that served as an interesting photo subject, as well as a canoe that is surrounded by a sea of pink Shibazakuras. We assisted Mom with her photos of herself with these.

We were dozing off once more on our way back to Tokyo. There was some traffic before reaching the city which didn't last long.

When we got back to Shinjuku Express Highway Bus station, I accompanied my sister in search of the coveted custard dessert across to Lumine mall, unfortunately it was sold out. We found ourselves up in the sweets section Keio mall and got some Takano almond jelly with fruits and some Morozoff seasonal offering peach custard.

We were clamouring for some Hinai chicken Oyakodon we tasted last time we were in Tokyo. We decided to try an Izakaya near Shinjuku-sanchome station. We greeted the master however he did not even say the usual "irasshaimase." One of the customers said in limited English that there was no seat available.

We opted to walk back to the station near our accommodation and not far from there was a family restaurant called Saizeriya. Mom and dad enjoyed some chicken with vegetables, my sister had some carbonara with extra cheese, and I had some shrimp and asparagus pasta (it only had maybe four shrimps and four asparagus pieces) as well as a salad. My sister and I thought the order for a pistachio gelato came through but it didn't. We didn't bother as we already had some dessert wine and dad had some zero alcohol, zero sugar malt flavoured drink.

On our way home we stopped by a taiyaki (fish shaped filled waffles) shop. We tried some sweet potato as well as red bean varieties. We enjoyed them with some roasted green tea and then turned in for the night not long after.Read more