For this trip, I will be focusing on covering 4 more Prefectures; namely Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi and Ibaraki in the Kanto Region.

With the completion of these 4 Prefectures, I would have completed 32 out of 47 Prefectures. 😊

The thought of it simply excites me. I will be driving for this trip so that it will be easier to manoeuvre around.

I have decided to pamper myself again with an upgrade to First Class for the first leg of my flight to reward myself after my last experience. This is highly additive that I have to admit. Well, we only have one life, so why not live it to the fullest while we have the means to do so. 😉

Arriving in style and ushered to the First Class check in counter.

Thereafter, I headed over to The Private Room for my dinner.

Chilling over a glass of Piper-Heidsieck Essential Extra Brut Champagne. This is really smooth,  fresh and crisp.

Thick creamy chowder soup with fish chunks, diced potatoes & carrots.

Wok-hei style rice noodles with US beef short plate & thick black bean sauce.

Fresh Boston Lobster with diced tomato and alfalfa sprouts.

Charcoal BBQ pork bun, premium pork and prawn siew mai & pan-fried yam cake with XO sauce.

Lightly barbecued Wagyu ribeye cuts with onions, cucumber slices, ketuput (rice cubes) & peanut sauce.

Milky cod fillet with shellfish sauce.

Browned crust tender rosy lamb.

I am thankful for this great quality dinner. 😋😋😋

Enjoying a good rest in the day room with the zero gravity tempur bed provided. This is what life should be all about.

This tempur bed is really good stuff. 👍

Freshen up with a good shower prior to boarding.

Hopping over to the First Class Lounge at Terminal 2 next.

Time for boarding and looking forward to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Cheers to another great holiday!

Beautiful sky view upon take-off.

Having Kyo Kaiseki by Mr Yoshihiro Murata for my sky breakfast.

Prawn and green pea cake garnished with hanaho flower. Abalone with salad of onion, celery and tomato. Simmered rolled beef with burdock garnished with kinome herb.

Grilled miso flavoured samara mackerel, baked bamboo shoot with kinome herb flavoured red miso paste and garnished with marinated ginger flower.

Steamed savoury egg custard with prawn, chicken meatball, ginkgo nuts, shimeiji mushroom and lily bulbs.

Red miso soup with asari clam, spring onion and sansho pepper.

Upon arrival, proceeded to the car rental counter in front of the 2nd floor arrival exit to arrange for complimentary courtesy car pick up.

Thereafter, was guided over to the waiting area on Level 1 near the parking area for the rent-a-car pick up.

Here I am, collected my rental car for the next 5 days’ usage.

Driving off to Saitama Prefecture to visit Kawagoe.

Kawagoe is most famous for its many traditional buildings, which have earned it the nickname Koedo (literally “Little Edo”).

Interestingly, Miffy Storehouse Kitchen & Bakery caught my immediate attention when strolling the streets of Kawagoe.

This is so adorable and also a great photo spot too.

Look at the different types of cube bread in the shop. It’s hard not to be distracted by it.

It is a wooden three-story tower with a height of about 3 metres and built in the centre of Kawagoe.

Yakushi Shrine, adjacent to the Kawagoe Bell Tower, is believed to give efficacy to those suffering from illness, especially from eye diseases.

Next, I came across a shop that specializes in sweet potato products called Imo Love.

The sweet potato with red bean filling bun is steamingly delicious, and the bun skin has the mochi texture when eaten.

I love this Starbucks operated from the traditional edo building. Very nostalgic.

Visited Hikawa Shrine (氷川神社) next.

Hikawa Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, Japan and is often called Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine.

The torii gate with the height at 15 metres is one of the largest wooden torii gates in Japan.

The shrine enshrines the god of married couples, so it has been worshipped as the ‘God of Marriage’.

A nice photo spot for those who visited the shrine.

Kawagoe Castle Honmaru Palace (本丸御殿), meaning “the palace in the inner-most circle of defence” is the only surviving building of the former Kawagoe Castle.

Kawagoe’s Kitain (喜多院) is the head temple of the Tendai Sect in the Kanto Region. Among its halls are the only remaining palace buildings of the former Edo Castle.

Settled for a quick lunch at Yamada Udon before proceeding for my hotel check-in.

Stopping by Daiso along the journey for some household items pick up. ☺️

Finally, checking in to Daiwa Roynet Hotel Tokyo Akabane for my first night stay.

I always enjoy the room size as this is one of my favourite hotel chains to stay whenever I am in Japan.

Spotted Torikizoku Izakaya and decided on an early dinner to beat the dinner crowd.

All the items are pegged at the same price at ¥370 per item. It’s primarily a chicken-base kind of food. Highly recommended!

Took a leisure stroll at 1 番街 thereafter.

Basically, it is another food street where you will be spoilt for food choices. 😅

Slowing things down at my favourite Doutor Café before calling it a night.

Encoring my morning with a good breakfast at Doutor before checking out of the hotel.

After a satisfying meal, proceeded to drive over to Gunma Prefecture and made my first stop at the Takasaki Byakue Daikannon (高崎白衣大観音).

This impressive, towering statue of the Goddess of Mercy is a well-known symbol of Takasaki.

Byakue Daikannon is 41.8 meters tall and weighs nearly 6,000 tons. The statue is within the grounds of Jigenin Temple.

You may purchase a ticket and walk up 146 steps inside the statue and…..

….climbing nine levels to its shoulders, where you will be greeted with views across Takasaki.

Enjoying the breathtaking magnificent views over Takasaki from the shoulders of a deity.

People will come and pray to the 20 enshrined Buddhas placed within it.

At the same time, you may also take in view of the various halls within the temple before savouring local snacks prior to leaving.

Yakimanju is a local food of Gunma known as a place that has produced wheat long ago. Plain steamed manju are put on a bamboo skewer and roasted with miso sauce.

Amazake is a traditional sweet, low or non-alcohol Japanese drink made from sake lees and sugar. Sake lees can be used as a pickling agent, the main ingredient of amazake, a cooking paste to add flavour to food and as a marinade.

Went over to Shorinzan Darumi-ji Temple (少林山達磨寺) next in search of daruma dolls.

You will need to negotiate a long flight of steps before heading to the temple. 😅

Shorinzan Daruma Temple is a small temple located in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture and is known as the birthplace of daruma.

Admiring the various buildings in the temple ground.

Look at all the daruma dolls you can possibly see in your life!

Do you feel like you are being watched by so many pairs of eyes all of a sudden? 😱

OMG! Even the vending machine also imprinted with daruma doll. 😃

With sheer luck, I happened to chance upon Nanakusa while en route to Kusatsu Onsen Town.

Oh my, this is the best handmade soba that I ever had. Oiishi desu! 😋😋😋

With a great lunch, I continued my journey to Kusatsu Onsen Town thereafter.

At its centre is the spring’s source, Yubatake, with its gushing, steaming waters. Kusatsu is known for its hot-spring resorts and you will see lots of tourists here.

Nearby is the traditional Goza no Yu bathhouse where you see tourists forming long queues just to have a bath at the bathhouse.

Taking a snack break at Matsumoto Joshu Ground Flour Udon.

A local Gunma specialty. Udon noodles served with a variety of vegetables (with a focus on root vegetables) and mushroom in a miso-flavoured broth that will really warm you up.

Ready to eat after the hour glass countdown. It’s a thick cut udon like our mee hoon kway.

Checking in to Shima-Onsen Toshimaya for my ryokan stay tonight. This onsen resort is a much less touristy spot where you get to enjoy the quaint & quiet surrounding environment for a nice recharge.

Big and spacious Japanese-styled room with the natural sound of the river flowing that can calm a person’s mind easily.

Isn’t this a stunning view?

It’s now time for my anticipated kaiseki dinner.

After a sumptuous dinner, it’s time to enjoy a good onsen before calling it a night.

Starting the morning with a sumptuous kaiseki breakfast.

Making my first attraction visit to Ryuzu Fall after check out from Shima-Onsen Toshimaya.

Ryuzu Fall is a waterfall located upstream from the Yugawa River which makes its way into Lake Yunoko and Lake Chuzenji.

Pit stop at Ryojō-an Coffee Stand for their local speciality snack in Nikko.

Follow up with the second attraction, Kegon Fall.

Kegon Fall is located at Lake Chuzenji (source of the Oshiri River) in Nikko National Park near the city of Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.

You will need to take a one minute elevator ride to descend 100m to the fall bottom for the observatory point to have the breathtaking view of Kegon Fall, one of the best 3 waterfalls in Japan, the other 2 will be Nachi Fall in Wakayama and the other one, Fukuroda Fall in Ibaraki.

The main falls had a height of approximately 97 metres and about twelve smaller waterfalls are situated behind and to the sides of Kegon Fall, leaking through the many cracks between the mountain and the lava flows.

Third attraction will be Lake Chuzenji.

Lake Chuzenji also called Sea of Happiness is a scenic lake in Nikko National Park in the city of Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.

Settled for a quick lunch at 味自慢 before heading to the fourth attraction, Nikko Toshogu Shrine.

Here I am at Nikko Toshogu Shrine after being stuck in a long traffic jam. 😂

In this temple ground, you will get to see the lavishly decorated shrine complex consisting of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf were used to decorate the buildings in a way not seen elsewhere in Japan, where simplicity has been traditionally stressed in shrine architecture.

One of Toshogu’s most famous carvings.

Final attraction for the day, Four Season’s Bamboo Forest which is operated by Wakayama Farm.

Entrance to the bamboo forest.

This is a native bamboo in Japan. Earthenware from Jomon-era shows the evidence that Madake was being used thousands of years ago. Culms can be split thin and are resilient and therefore Madake has been often used in traditional bamboo artwork and crafts.

This is the tallest and the most popular type of bamboo in Japan. The leaves are small and thin, thus making a beautiful shade of light green in the sun.

The stalk is golden yellow with vertical green lines appearing on every other internode. There are places in Japan where this bamboo type has been designated as a national treasure.

Also known as tortoise shell bamboo. It is a mutation of Moso Bamboo. Slanted nodes make unusual shapes that resemble that of a turtle shell.

It is truly relaxing to stroll through this bamboo forest. A different feel from the Kyoto Arashimaya Bamboo Forest.

Thereafter, proceeded to check in at Utsunomiya Tobu Hotel Grande for my night stay.

The room is really spacious, clean and comfortable.

Decided to spend the rest of the night at Apita Utsunomiya for shopping and food.

Look what I found! Yes, my all-time favourite dango. Yay!

Trying out Beard Papa’s limited May 2024 addition of the Strawberry Milk Cream Puff. Trust me, this is so darn good!

Caught hold of Mister Donut and there is no second guess on what’s next. 🫢

Trying out some new items offered at KFC.

Taking a late light dinner at Utsunomiya Tanmen before ending the night.

Begin the day with my morning fix at Sukiya.

After a hearty meal, I made my way to Fukuroda Fall.

You will be greeted by all the fish lanterns while making your way to the waterfall.

Entrance to the Fukuroda Fall.

Thereafter, you will be required to walk through the waterfall view tunnel to the 1st and 2nd waterfall view decks.

The waterfall view tunnel is 276 metres long, 3 metres high and 4 metres wide. At the end of the tunnel are the 1st and 2nd waterfall view decks, which allow views of the fall from below and from above.

Magnificent view of Fukuroda Fall from below as seen from the 1st observation deck.

Fukuroda Fall is a waterfall located in the town of Daigo, Ibaraki Prefecture Japan. It is a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty. The falls are ranked as the third most beautiful waterfall in Japan, coming after Kegon Fall and Nachi Fall.

Next, you may take the elevator to the 2nd observation deck.

You can get to catch the view from above at this 2nd observation deck.

Here, you will get to view the highest level of Fukuroda Fall.

Trying my level best to mimick capturing the heart shape as depicted. 😅

Capturing a nice view of the suspension bridge from the 1st observation deck.

You can feel the shakiness of the suspension bridge when you walk on it.

Fukuroda Fall is also a magnificent sight when viewed from some distance away from the suspension bridge.

Snacking on grilled miso dango along the shopping street before leaving.

Follow up by visiting Ryujin Big Suspension Bridge thereafter.

The Ryujin Suspension Bridge is 375 metres long. Its midpoint is 100 metres above the water below and it can safely carry the load of 3,500 people at any one time.

This bridge is one of the longest pedestrian suspension bridges in Japan.

View of the suspension bridge from the main entrance walkway.

Equally impressive view from the other end of the bridge.

Beautiful view taken from the middle of the bridge.

For those who are adventurous, you may even consider taking part in the bungee jumping experience at the bridge.

Enjoying a quick lunch at Restaurant Mori no Kaze after having a fun time at the bridge.

Arriving to Hotel Nikko Tsukuba where I will be putting up for tonight.

The room size is spacious, clean and comfortable too.

Joining in the festivity fun at the Meat Festival right beside the hotel I am in.

Driving off to Aeon Mall Tsukuba to spend the rest of my evening.

This is a relatively new mall and it covers an area of 200,000 square metres.

There are a lot of retail shops, restaurants and supermarket where you can shop till you drop.

There is also a huge Food Forest food court where it will leave you spoilt for choice too.

I have decided on the roast beef bowl after struggling on the shortlistees.

Settled for dinner at Sushi Yamato before calling it a night.

Starting the morning with a simple breakfast at Café Gusto after checking out of hotel.

A typical breakfast set enjoyed by the locals.

Holy Moly! This must be the best ever pancake that I have had thus far. It’s truly good and fluffy. 👍😋

This morning I will be driving down to Tokyo and spend my last 2 nights relaxing in Tokyo.

Making a pit stop at Pasar Moriya rest area for an early lunch.

This rest area has a huge food court inside it in addition to some other food and grocery store.

There is even Yakiniku Like in the rest area too.

Checking in to Hotel Amanek Kamata-Eki Mae for my final 2 nights stay.

This is the best accommodation among all my stay for this trip. I love the layout and interior decor of this room. Also this hotel is newly renovated too.

Visited Tokyu Plaza Omotesando “Omokado” located in the centre of the Omotesando/Harajuku area bustling with multilevel shopping centre with international brands & a rooftop terrace with city views.

Directly across is a new Tokyu Plaza Harajuku “Harakado” which has just opened in Apr 2024.

It is a place to create and experience a new Harajuku culture.

This is interesting, a bit of the AR feel.

The interactive projection mapping is really impressive.

There is even a co-working space in this plaza too.

Oh, I love this rooftop terrace where bean bags are provided for visitors to sit and relax at their leisure space.

It happens that there is a promotion launch for the Ayatake Green Tea and all visitors who come by will receive a bottle of complimentary green tea for your enjoyment in the misty environment.

Spotted Ichiran Ramen from afar and here I am. ☺️

I am trying out a new recipe here in case you are wondering why I am ordering the above in Ichiran.

My own recipe of the stew pork rice bowl.

This is surprisingly delicious. Try this next time when you are at Ichiran Ramen. 😉

Trying out the #1 plain waffle at Mr Waffle located directly in front of Kamata Station gantry exit.

Decided to encore another round of Torikizoku before calling it a night.

Enjoying another round of breakfast at Doutor Café.

This morning, I will be spending time leisurely exploring Kagurazaka (Little Paris Tokyo), a neighbourhood in Tokyo, northwest of Iidabashi Station. It has a shopping street at its centre, lined by numerous cafés and restaurants.

A Shrine with attractive modern architecture, and many women come to worship, as it is said to bring a fulfilled relationship, easy childbirth and matrimonial happiness.

The Shrine was completely renewed in 2010, resulting in an impressive, modern version of a Shinto holy site.

Kagurazaka retains the vestiges of an old townscape. Be prepared to get lost while enjoying your walk here.

Happen to come across Point et Ligne, a bakery shop and their pastries are so temptingly inviting.

Snacking on scotch egg while strolling along the street of Kagurazaka.

If you visit the temple on 3rd February, you will be able to witness the bean-throwing festival in which evil spirits are chased out.

Adjourned for lunch at Royal Host next.

Followed up with a visit to Canal Café thereafter to escape from the bustle of Shinjuku and Shibuya.

Spending a great time enjoying a smooth panna cotta made with Hokkaido milk, fresh cream and sautéed LaFrance from Yamagata Prefecture and a cup of original Sakura Tea by the canal side.

Relaxing and slowing things down by the canal side and taking in the beautiful scenery.

Make a visit to We Topia next.

This colourful space in front of the Ikebukuro Station’s West Entrance that looks like a stylish cafe or event space is actually a public restroom. 😱

Renovated over the course of a year, in response to concerns over the bathrooms being “dark and scary” and “uninviting for women”, the new-look restroom opened in October 2022 is part of Toshima Ward’s 90th Anniversary Project.

Once a tunnel that many preferred to avoid, this is now a safe and attractive passageway.

This is indeed beautifully decorated and has since become an attraction, too. So next time, if you are in the vicinity and need to use a restroom, make sure you pop by We Topia. 😉

One for the road dinner at Gyoza no Ohsho.

Savouring yakisoba for my supper in the comfort of my hotel room.

Had a light quickkie breakfast at Sakura Buckwheat Noodle Shop.

Round 2 breakfast at MOS Burger.

It’s time to check out of the hotel and head off to Haneda Airport via Airport Bus in about 20 mins. Economical and hassle free way to travel to Haneda Airport.

Arrived into Haneda Airport shortly thereafter at the scheduled travelling time.

Up close and personal view from the airport observation deck.

“We Are Tokyo” is a call for all terminal crews to create a welcoming atmosphere for all people around the world.

Chilling at ANA Lounge prior to boarding.

I am now good to go after a nice freshen up.

Goodbye, Land of the Rising Sun. It has been a great trip as always.

With onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce.

Sakizuke (Assorted Cold Appetiser)
Konjak jelly and spring onion tossed with Mustard miso dressing and poached sake flavoured scallop with egg yolk vinegar sauce and pink peppercorn.

Mukouzuke (Cold Seafood Dish)
Marinated sea bream wrapped with shredded kelp served with wasabi and soya sauce.

Kuchitori (Cold Appetiser)
Bamboo shoot and butter bur coated with bonito flakes garnished kinome herb.

Men (Cold Noodle)
Green tea Soba Noodle garnished with braised sliced shiitake mushroom and spring onion and served with soba sauce, wasabi and seaweed.

Yakimono (Main Dish)
Kinome herb and sansho peppers flavoured braised abalone and roasted rolled chicken with burdock garnished with chrysanthemum leaves and pickled ginger flower.

Takiawase (Simmer Dish)
Simmered octopus with butter bur, spring turnip and carrot topped with shredded ginger.

Aemono (Assorted Cold Appetiser)
Minced duck, pine nut and raisin terrine garnished with pea shoot with sesame salad, marinated sardine coated with grated egg yolk, pea shoot tossed with sesame seeds.

Gohan (Rice Dish)
Flavoured rice with sea bream and bamboo shoot garnished with mitsuba leaves.

Kounomono (Assorted Seasonal Pickles)

Tome-Wan (Soup)
Miso soup garnished with nameko mushroom, wakame seaweed and spring onion.

Mizumono (Kashiwa Mochi)
White glutinous rice mochi dough stuffed with red bean and wrapped with oak leaf served with melon.

Well, that completes another trip for me. I am looking forward to my next upcoming trip. Till then.

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