We had bought tickets for the Hakone Highway Bus 2 days ago for ¥5,800. The bus trip took us 2 hours to get to Gotemba Bus Stop. There we took the free shuttle bus to Gotemba Premium Outlets, alighting at the west side.
Realizing the size of the place, we decided we don’t have much time to spend here! Regretted having not planned a whole day to spend here. Hence we settled lunch quickly by eating cheese hot dogs. Then it’s race against time with shopping! With the shops layout map on hand, we selected some shops to target our spree…
Tip for the day: Don’t buy the return ticket for Gotemba bus in advance! We missed our Gotemba bus by 10 mins! Should not have bought return bus ticket in advance. Hence we took the free shuttle bus to the train station. Along the way, we noted that Gotemba looks like a rural area, compared to Shinjuku. Reaching the station, we boarded the Gotemba Line train to Kozu. Inside this train, the windows have blinds to block the sun’s glare.
At Kozu, instead of transferring to the JR Tokaido Line, we boarded the Shonan Shinjuku Line, and hence wasted some time getting back on the right track, before reaching Shimbashi in 2.5hours.
Very hungry, we settled dinner first at a restaurant selling ramen. Noticed that everyone around us were slurping while eating their ramen. I had tried but failed to slurp while eating ramen. Culture differences have us used to eating without slurping. However, the ramen I had was really delicious and rich in taste, different from ramen I ate in Singapore.
After eating, we walked to the Yurikamome Line to board a train to Odaiba Island. We then alighted at Aomi Station and walked to VenusFort shopping mall.
The interior of the shopping mall is designed to resemble a medieval European village. It reminded us of Venetian Resort in Macau. We immediately headed to the sole shop we went there for: Burberry Blue Label! According to research and information gotten from friends, the largest outlet is located here. By then we have managed to recognize the brand name in Japanese! (Burberry: バーバリー) This is handy, as the shop directory lists shop names only in Japanese, although we later got a pamphlet showing the floor map and shop names in English.
After much deliberation, I finally settled on this bag, due to the many compartments it has (my favorite type of bag). Think as the shop sell high-end branded goods, the salesperson insisted on carrying my shopping bag to the entrance, before passing the bag and bowing with thanks on our leaving their shop. Later we realised all salespeople extend the same courtesy when we shop at branded stores.
There is a mini indoor Hello Kitty theme park at VenusFort. The concept was based on “Kawaii” (Cuteness). The theme park includes a pancake restaurant, a gift shop as well as kids’ playing zone. Kawaii~
Satisfied with my purchase and visit at VenusFort, we headed home.
Upon reaching the hotel, we decided to give our clothes a wash since the queue wasn’t too long. A 120min wash and dry cost ¥500. When we collected our clothes, they felt dry and warm, except for a few pieces of thicker clothing, which we lay out to dry in our room. We had great fun shopping that day!
For photos, please refer to Dear’s SkyDrive.
Emily Loh - The Strange Diaries 