Exploring The Cities

We set off for our long-awaited spree at the popular Gotemba Outlet Shopping Mall which is located near the Mount Fuji area. Before I talk about the shopping spree, I would like to mention that the breakfast at the Hot Spring Hotel which we stayed last night was very healthy but blend one. Let me put it this way… it’s not really the kind of breakfast we Singaporean will enjoy. It’s their authentic breakfast with a mini hot pot with porridge or rice, small omelet, mini sausages and the smelly bean!

Anyway, we are through that and we proceed to our shopping spree at the Gotemba Outlet which housed many branded shops. The mall was very big but practically, it was easy to complete if you know what you are looking for. 

As for the elderly, they weren’t up for the window shopping so, we brought them to the coffee joints to let them enjoy the coffee and some snacks while the rest of us quickly get our shopping done. There were plenty of branded shops and the price were cheaper than back home. Though some of the designs were outdated but who cares right!

After the two hours of shopping, we went to visit the Cup Noodle Museum. Upon arriving, we saw a huge ferris wheel. I goggled and found out that its called the Cosmo Clock 21. It also housed a free-admission urban amusement park where you only pay for rides you want to take. 

The Cup Noodle Museum does not look interesting even when you entered the premises. However, when you got up to the 3^rd floor, what drew our attention was the small indoor playground for the kiddos. It was built in such a way the kids will see the progression of how the cup noodle was made. Very interesting and fun for the kids indeed. While the kids were having fun at the playground for a good 30 minutes, we walked around and check out other areas.  

Everyone went up to the 4^th level and we managed to get to watch the mini-movie of how the cup noodle made its name. After the interesting show, we toured around and finally understood how cup noodle came about and how it brought convenience to many people.

As the day fell short due to winter season, we went to Chinatown. As we were still early for dinner, we walked around and brought the elderly to get their dried scallops which they believed it is cheaper to get them in Japan. Mmmh… learnt from my mum that it was really cheaper to get in Japan and the quality was good. 

Okay, I got to say that our dinner tonight was a real SAD one! We went into a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown and yes, we were expecting a good dinner with good dishes but it ended up with just one bowl of huge noodle soup with seafood!!! Sighz… not that we were super hungry or whatsoever but c’mon… just one huge bowl of noodles!!! You kiddin me! 

The noodles were so huge that I could not finish. All of us left the restaurant with disappointment and this experience will remain in our mind for a long long time! Since dinner wasn’t satisfactory, we kept a look out for some interesting food along the street while we head back to our bus. 

We checked into Hotel East 21 Tokyo and we were really happy to find our room spacy and comfortable as we will be here for the next 3 nights. The kids wanted to play with their cousins so we brought over to our parents’ room where kids usually gathers. Hubby & I went to get some food for the elderly since they had an early dinner and it was only a huge bowl of noodle soup.

As we were heading out, we found out that my sis-in-law & hubby managed to get some food for the elderly and themselves as they felt a little hungry. Hubby & I went to explore our hotel area and we found a Japanese casual joint for our supper. It was a Izakaya style restaurant and we checked out their menu and ordered some of our favourite dishes like the sashimi, clams in white wine sauce, grilled dishes and yakisoba. The food was delicious and cost lesser than what we paid back at home. I think the Japanese restaurant in Singapore is really killing the consumers softly.  

After a fantastic couple night out for supper, we headed back to our room and prepare for a restful night before another busy day tomorrow.