ELLE AND JESS: family trip

On the 2nd day of our Tokyo Rail Days trip, we went to Kawazu, a town located on the east coast of Izu which is famous of its early-blooming Sakura (Cherry Blossoms).

"But where are all the pink and pretty flowers?" you might ask.

Well, read on...

We went to Kawazu by Super View Odoriko train and arrived at approx. 12pm and then we headed straight to lunch by a shuttle bus. Anyway, how kawaii this Kawazu Station is?! The pink-decorated board kind of reminds us of kindergarten! Instant happiness :D

Our lunch was held at Izu Imaihama Tokyu Resort. The restaurant is SO cute with its low ceiling design, and the atmosphere is very traditional-Japanese-y with the dark-wood dominant decor. Lovely!

Beautiful and serene view outside the restaurant.

Aaand, here comes the FOOD!

This well-presented lunch is called "Washoku Hakozen". It's a box tray (Hakozen) consists of various Japanese food served in small portion. All of them were so fresh and flavorful!

Elle's and Mom's

Jess' and Bro's (Vegetarian) — Actually they don't have vegetarian options, so if you happen to be a Vegetarian, you have to request it beforehand so they can prepare it just for you. :)

The desserts!! Sakura mochi and dango. The dango, in particular, is so good! ♡

Even the tea was Sakura Tea! haha, we love Kawazu!

Took a picture with the chef as a memento! :D

The resort♡

As one might expect from a resort, it is located by the beach! We played there for a while before going to our main destination. A bit funny though, playing on the beach in our winter outfits. ^^

GOWIGASA BABE Sweater Brown & Sugababes Pleated Maxi Skirt Pink | Honeybunch Cream Coat | Pull&Bear Boots | Red Scarf, Brown Hat from Shibuya 109

Cute weather report inside the resort! As you can see, the weather that day was perfect! Cold, yet sunny, and less windy. :D

After lunch, we headed back to Kawazu Station by the same shuttle bus to see Sakura Festival (located just across the station).

Waiting at the zebra crossing with this pink-robed officer! Hats off to Kawazu for taking the Sakura-town pride to the next level!

We crossed the street excitedly, only to be welcomed by:

*cricket sound*

Apparently we were too early for the sakura. (╥_╥)

So, typically Sakura season takes place in the end of March or early April. But, here in Kawazu, where the weather is not that cold, the sakura flowers bloom earlier, i.e. early February. We went there on 11th February, so you might want to visit on 15th February just to be safe!

But it's okay, there are still many adorable stuffs that welcomed us... like these boards.

We are fine, really. (Ｔ▽Ｔ)

*Obligatory OOTD shot*

*No sakura, quick find something cute to pose with!*

But really, even without sakura, this place is still a delight to stroll through. Especially when the weather is this good. Just look at that beautiful scenery! *appreciating God's breathtaking creation mode on*

✿ La Familia ✿

The best trips for us is the ones we have with our family, how about you? :)

Wait, what is THAT we are holding?

It's SAKURA ICE CREAM!!!
You may literally scream for this ice cream because it's soooooooo heavenly good (and pretty, look at the cone)!! You can get it from one of the street stalls for ¥300 only.

Making the most out of that tiny sakura tree! (｡◝‿◜｡)

Pink and more pink.

Sakura mochi again! But not as good as the one at the resort earlier. (We tasted the samples)

Big big strawberries! Japanese strawberries are the BEST!! Stay tuned for our post about them!

Sakura~ Sakura everywhere~~ These ones are sakura sake, we really love the right one!

Our chill mom with her backpack. x)

*Obligatory vending machine shot*

The peaceful streets♡ Imagine how beautiful it would be when the all the sakura has bloomed!!

Our lil brother a.k.a. our personal photographer. :)

♡♡

↑ Click to play the video ↑

While we were taking pictures, there was this Japanese lady walking down the street promoting the Kawazu-zakura (Sakura in Kawazu), totemo kawaiiiii! ♥～(‘▽^人)

Oh ya, there was quite a lot of people bringing their dogs for a walk. ^^

After strolling for some miles, we stopped by this cozy outdoor cafe to give our feet a rest and keeping ourselves hydrated (and also to take some pictures, lol).

While we were enjoying our time at the cafe, suddenly Osafune-san from BBlog told us there's a Sakura tree that has bloomed earlier!!! Yes, only ONE tree hahaha, but we still wanna see!!

So, off we go to that destined tree!

It was around 10-15mins walk from the cafe, we didn't mind at all as we got to see more beautiful scenery and Japanese scenes, like a Japanese suburban houses that we usually see in mangas:

Reminds you of Doraemon and Nobita's scenes or nah?

This might come off a bit creepy, but we are sooo curious how the interior would look like!

And now, ladies and gentlemen, may we present to you...

✿ The early bloomer! ✿

So grateful that we get to see sakura for the first time with our family! And come to think of it, we were actually very lucky we got to "meet" the FIRST blooming sakura tree in Kawazu. :)

Hey, we are trying to look on the bright side here, okay.

Osafune-san explained that when sakura just bloomed, the color is more to dark pink like in the picture above, and then once they reached full bloom, the color will fade to pale pink like this:

Which shade of pink do you prefer? :)

Anyway, in December last year, we blogged about WAKUWAKU Japan Cafe and wrote this (highlighted):

And 2 months later, here we are taking pictures with real sakura in Japan. Thank you, Tokyo Rail Days and BinaBlog for making our wish come true :)

Here's to more sakura (and family trip) to come!╰(✿´⌣`✿)╯

Side note: The sakura in Kawazu bloom through early March.

お母さん ♡

With the kind-hearted Osafune-san :)

Ending this post with this picture: Find the bird!!

How To Get There

1. Go to Tokyo Rail Days' website here
2. Choose the tour that you're interested in (Sakura / Strawberry Pickings / Skiing / etc).
Complete information about the price and itinerary details is right there on the website.
You can also choose the day and time. So practical!

3. Contact one of the travel agents that are listed below the page to arrange the tour.
They can also rent you a portable wifi, how convenient is that?

4. Make the payment
5. Train tickets and information about the trip will be sent to your hotel in Japan

Tokyo Rail Days' PLUS POINTS

It is COST-EFFICIENT, CONVENIENT and EASY because:
1. You're going to travel by train –a comfortable one, really!
2. All the tickets, informations and guidance is prepared by them, no need to hire a costly tour guide
3. Everything is customized to your budget and schedule

P.S. The tour and ticket price is very low because it's special price for tourists. If Japanese themselves want to go, they cannot get this price. ^^;

Still confused?
Visit their booth at Japan Travel Fair Event:
6-8th March 2015 at Central Park Mall, West Jakarta