Walk of life: Yamanashi 2018 Day 1

Showing posts with label Yamanashi 2018 Day 1. Show all posts

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Yamanashi 2018 山梨県の旅 - Toyoko Inn Kofu Eki Minami Guchi 2 東横イン甲府駅南口2

Stayed 3 nights: 12.10.2018 (Fri), 13.10.2018 (Sat), 17.10.2018 (Wed)
Booked thru’ Toyoko Inn website.
- Single room: 6,175 yen/night
- Twin room: 9,500 yen/night
* Price inclusive of 5% member discount.

First choice. After multiple trips to Japan, Toyoko Inn has become my top choice of hotel whenever possible. This time round, we stayed in Kofu Eki Minami Guchi 2 on all the nights in Kofu-shi, because of its ideal location near the train station. Currently, there are only two branches of Toyoko Inn in Yamanashi Prefecture and both of them are found within Kofu-shi and within walking distance from Kofu JR Station South Exit. Location wise, Kofu Ekimae Minami Guchi 2 has a greater advantage since it is just right opposite the train station - the distinct building can be easily identified once upon exiting from the train station. On the other hand, Minami Guchi 1 is about 7 minutes walk from the train station, located closer to Maizuru Jo Koen.

Ample walking space within room.

Interior of single room.

Perks. Will not elaborate much on the accommodation since the business model has been quite consistent among all Toyoko Inn branches I have stayed so far, and there has not been any changes since I last stayed with Toyoko Inn (when I visited Ibaraki Prefecture) a year ago. One of the perks enjoyed by a Toyoko Inn Club member is a free one night stay (in a single room) being awarded after the 10th stay. Being an avid supporter of Toyoko Inn, I have also accumulated enough points from previous trips to redeem a free one night stay this time round.

Toyoko Inn Club membership: https://www.toyoko-inn.com/club/

Highlights. If you are staying on the higher levels of the hotel, a good view of Maizuru Jo Koen / Maizuru Castle Park 舞鶴城公園 can be seen from the window at one end of the corridor. And if you are lucky enough, you can even spot the majestic Fuji-san from the hotel as well! Complimentary breakfast is served in the morning starting from 0630 hrs till around 0900 hrs. Here, the local specialty, Houtou ほうとう, was served in replacement of miso soup, which I felt was a thoughtful gesture by the hotel to introduce this well known local noodle dish to its guests. All in all, I can always count on Toyoko Inn for a good night rest during my stay in Japan!

Maizuru Castle Park viewed from 12th storey of hotel.

Lobby and dinning area.

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What’s nearby?

(1) Kofu JR Station 甲府駅 and Bus Terminal バスターミナル, a stone throw away from the hotel.

(2) Maizuru Jo Koen 舞鶴城公園, less than 3 minutes walk away from the hotel.
A public park now; was originally the site of Maizuru Castle 舞鶴城 (or Kofu Castle 甲府城), which would have been 400 years old if it existed. Though the castle keep tower or tenshukaku 天守閣 is no longer around, the stone laid fortress is still well preserved and its relatively high elevation makes it an excellent observatory to capture a good 360 degree overview of Kofu city.
https://www.city.kofu.yamanashi.jp/welcome/rekishi/kofujyou.html

Yamanashi Prefectural Office.

(3) Museum of Modern Yamanashi Historical Figures 山梨近代人物館, just across the main road.
Designated as a cultural property, the annex of Yamanashi prefectural office houses a museum documenting the achievements of famous people originated from Yamanashi Prefecture and their contributions in various fields of work such as politics, finance, education, agriculture, international relations, arts, research, etc.
- Free admission
https://www.pref.yamanashi.jp/ykj/index.html

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Toyoko Inn Kofu Eki Minami Guchi 2 東横イン甲府駅南口2
〒400-0031 山梨県甲府市丸の内2-3-2
https://www.toyoko-inn.com/search/detail/00132

How to get there?

(1) By foot. 1 minute walk from Kofu JR Station South Exit.

Friday, December 7, 2018

Yamanashi 2018 山梨県の旅 - Kofu JR Station 甲府駅, Aeon Mall Kofu Showa イオンモール甲府昭和

Kofu JR Station 甲府駅, is located along Chuo main line 中央線 and the terminus station for Minobe line 身延線. Kofu is the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture and it takes approx 1.5 hours to reach here by limited express trains from Shinjuku Station 新宿駅. Kofu was also the focal point during my 9 days stay in Yamanashi Prefecture. From here, we visited nearby symbolic landmarks such as Kai Zenkoji 甲斐善光寺 and Takeda Jinja 武田神社; travelled northwards from here by bus to explore Shosenkyo 昇仙峡; eastwards to Fuji five lakes area 富士五湖 and Fuefukigawa Onsen 笛吹川温泉; westwards to Kiyosato Kogen 清里高原.

Limited express trains serving this train station include:
(1) Ltd Exp Azusa あずさ and Super Azusa スーパーあずさ, commute between Shinjuku and Matsuyama 松山駅, located in Nagano Prefecture.
(2) Ltd Exp Kaiji かいじ, commutes between Shinjuku and Kofu.

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What’s nearby?

(1) Tourist information center, located within Kofu Station South Exit Bus Terminal building.

(2) Bus terminal. There are two bus terminals, one on each exit of the train station.

North Exit Bus Stop 2, for buses heading towards Takeda Jinja.

North Exit / Kita Guchi 北口:
- Bus Stop 3 for Yamanashi Kotsu Bus 山梨交通バス heading for Takeda Jinja 武田神社

South Exit Bus Terminal. Tourist information center located within bus terminal building.

South Exit / Minami Guchi 南口:

- Bus Stop 2 for Aeon Mall Kofu Showa Shuttle Bus イオンモール甲府昭和シャトルバス.

- Bus Stop 4 for Yamanashi Kotsu Bus 山梨交通バス heading for Shosenkyo 昇仙峡.

- Bus Stop 5 for Fujikyuko Bus 富士急行バス heading for Fujisan Station 富士山駅, passing by Isawa Onsen 石和温泉 and Kawaguchiko Station 河口湖駅.

- Bus Stop 6 for express/highway buses heading for Shinjuku, Haneda Airport, Narita Airport, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya or Shizuoka.

Aeon Mall Kofu Showa イオンモール甲府昭和
〒409-3852 山梨県中巨摩郡昭和町飯喰1505-1

http://kofushowa-aeonmall.com/

Ironically, there are no large scale shopping malls in the vicinity of the train station. If you are thinking of doing some shopping, Aeon Mall Kofu Showa is an excellent place to head down to. As it was still early after visiting Takeda Jinja 武田神社 on Day 2, I decided to utilise the dedicated shuttle bus, departing from Kofu Station Bus Terminal, to explore this mega shopping mall located about 30 minutes away by bus from the city center. At Aeon Mall Kofu Showa, international brands such as H&M, Gap and Zara and local household brands such as GU, MUJI, Seria (100 yen shop) can be found. Apart from restaurants, the shopping mall also houses TOHO cinema and a food court, named Food Forest (on the third storey), where we settled our dinner here before hopping back onto the shuttle bus heading for Kofu JR Station.
Bus fare = 210 yen (one way)

(3) Shopping malls

- Celeo セレオ, a JR managed shopping mall connected seamlessly to the train station.
Here, you can find souvenir shops selling goods originated from this prefecture, such as the signature Kikyo Shingen Mochi 桔梗信玄餅 - bite sized mochi covered with soy bean powder (kinako) and drizzled with brown sugar syrup. In fact, the huge popularity of Kikyo Shingen Mochi has coined an extensive array of merchandise bearing similar flavour as its predecessor, such as ice-cream, pudding, langue de chat and even Kit Kat! Rest assured that you will definitely be spoilt for choice when doing last minute shopping for souvenirs to bring back home at the train station. There is also a good variety of restaurants such as Aoba Ramen, Saizeriya, etc, located on the fifth storey of the shopping mall which are opened for business till 2130 hrs.
https://www.celeo.co.jp/shiten/index.php?scd=5

- Yamako Departmental Store 山交百貨店, located less than a minute walk away from South Exit.
There is a Starbucks located on the ground floor and a supermarket housed in the basement of the shopping mall.
https://www.yamako-dept.jp/

(4) Kofu Ekimae Post Office 甲府駅前郵便局, located less than a minute walk away from South Exit.
For Postacollect fans, remember to grab exclusive postcards released for Yamanashi Prefecture here!
https://map.japanpost.jp/p/search/dtl/300108186000/

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Yamanashi 2018 山梨県の旅 - Day 1 Kofu-shi 甲府市

Prelude:

This is my 13th visit to Japan and I decided to explore Yamanashi Prefecture, which is just adjacent to Tokyo. This was a trip dedicated to Fuji-san, a symbol analogous to Japan. Fuji-san spans across two prefectures - Yamanashi on the northern side and Shizuoka on the southern side. In Nov 2017, the images of Fuji-san captured during my expedition in Shizuoka Prefecture already blew me away. At that point of time, I made a mental note to visit the areas around Fuji-san on subsequent trip to Japan, to witness this breathtaking view all over again. Though weather was not at its best during my one week long stay in Yamanashi - cloudy and intermittent rain, there were a few precious moments when the majestic mountain stood out valiantly amongst the dispersing clouds.

Kofu-shi (甲府市), the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture, was the focal point of my entire trip.
For the first half of my trip, we travelled westwards from Kofu to Fuji Yoshida-shi (富士吉田市) and Kawaguchiko-cho (河口湖町) where the famous Fuji five lakes, such as Kawaguchi-ko (河口湖) and Yamanaka-ko (山中湖), are located in.
In the second half, we made a stop in Koshu-shi (甲州市) to savour the best grapes in Katsunuma (勝沼) and commuted eastwards to Kiyosato highlands (清里高原) in Hokuto-shi (北杜市). Here, a completely different view awaits as the magnificent Yatsugatake mountain range (八ヶ岳連峰) can be seen clearly.

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Day 1: 12.10.2018 (Fri)
* Day 1/3 Tokyo Wide Pass

SGP T2 (0035 hrs) > NRT T1 成田空港 (0845 hrs)
by NH 804.

Purchased Tokyo Wide Pass. [10,000 yen]
https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/tokyowidepass/

NRT (0945 hrs) > Shinjuku JR 新宿駅 (1110 hrs)
🚆 by Narita Express 成田エクスプレス 10.
* Train delayed, reached Shinjuku at 1130 hrs