New American Grill “KANADE TERRACE” at Gajoen

Lunch at New American Grill “KANADE TERRACE” at ホテル雅叙園東京.

Website: https://www.hotelgajoen-tokyo.com/restaurant/shop/kanadeterrace/menu

Their weekend buffet lunch costs 3,800 yen. 

According to their website, they sere up to 40 different dishes.

Here's the dishes that we took. As you can see there seems to be a good mix of meat, fish and veg.

While the selection is pretty good, there aren't that many options available. Overall, the food was delicious. I particularly enjoy the caramel pudding and beef.

Gajoen is a popular wedding location here in Japan. Besides that, they also have several restaurants in the hotel. Hence, there are many visitors/ guests which can result in a long queue to the washroom.

The garden outside also has a nice view.

I will definitely be back again at Gajoen to try their Japanese lunch.

The hotel itself is nice and has some very nice Japanese decorations.

Road trip to Mishima Sky Walk (三島スカイウォーク)

Road trip to Mishima Sky Walk 

The weather was cloudy and it was drizzling.

Mishima Skywalk provides a panoramic view of Fujisan and Suruga Bay. Unfortunately, we were unable to see Fujisan as the weather was so bad.

Spot me!

There are many tourist as this is one of the destination for tour buses too.

There are several activities that you can do there. It's best to book them online as you might have to wait long if you're applying for it on the spot.

You can ride the buggy there, join the forest adventure or join the segway guide tour.

There's also a nice cafe there. Like how beautiful the place looks when you look up.

While the are looked nice, we didn't stop for food or anything as we grabbed food on the highway rest areas.

If you're driving from Tokyo to Shizuoka and is looking for an area to stop or if you have time to spare, this could be it. There are plenty of parking spaces there which could be filled up quickly depending on the season.

Yamanaka Castle Ruins & Tivoli Sweets Factory

After the short trip to Mishima Sky Walk, we drove to the nearby Yamanaka Castle Ruins.

Parked the car near these bushes......look at the huge spider webs on them!!!

The area is pretty huge.

Lot of nice greens. While it was drizzling the whole time, we were still able to explore the entire area.

There were only a few other groups of people there with us. Overall, I don't think this place is that popular.

When there's not many people around, you are free to take as many shots as you like.

It was hydrangea season when we were there~

This slope behind me was filled with hydrangea bushes.

The Yamanaka Castle was from the Sengoku period, built by the Odawara Hojo Clan.

Right now, all that remains are these moats. I suppose they used to surround the castle.

After that we drove to the Tivoli Sweets Factory.

Website: http://www.tivoli-factory.com/

They have a cafe where you can enjoy some baked foods, ice cream and drinks. They even have an all you can eat cookie section. I suppose that you are suppose to pay for each person but I saw a family sharing one basket of all you can eat cookies. 

I had the mikan ice cream which was super refreshing, mikan juice which was also super yummy and sweet. Lastly, was a mikan choux which is probably one of the best that I've had.

They also sell lots of cookies and chocolate. I bought loads as everything that I tasted was delicious. There's even a sweets workshop and cooking area for kids.

A picture of our renal car for this day trip.

This banner on the highway has an interesting message by the township, "We do not call those above 70 as senior citizens".

On our drive back, we stopped by a Sushi Ro for dinner.

I also enjoy trying out their seasonal menu as they're usually good.

This seafood stack is amazing!

My favourite for the night was this ebi wantan ramen. The ebi flavour was strong and yummy. I enjoyed the pairing of that soup with the wanton and noodle.

When you have a car, it's easy to visit a Sushi Ro as they're usually out in the outskirts.

Bowling competition

Lunch with colleagues at this quaint little cafe nearby.

It's a small cafe located on the 2nd floor that is runned by an elderly couple. It kinda looks like a tree house from outside. They only sell simple stuffs for lunch, though there are also many other handmade items for sale there.

I ordered their minestrone soup with toasts. If you come late, there might not be any left. A colleague of mine wanted roast too but I had apparently ordered the last ones.

Knowing that I will not be full with just soup and toast, I ordered a slice of cake too. Simple butter cake to end the meal.

Later that night, we had some sort of team building event - bowling competition.

We were separated into 3 teams and our total score would determine which team is the winning team.

All members of that team will win a gift.

Here are some picture of my happy colleagues being presented their gift.

Even though my team didn't win, I did have a lot of fun as it's been a long time since I bowled. Also, there was lots of pizza and okonomiyaki for dinner.

A group picture to end the lovely bowling competition night.