Our automated wakeup call this morning was timely and funny: the heavily accented words “Good Morning” repeated over and over again with the tinny notes of Fur Elise playing gingerly in the background; unexpected, but effective in tickling the funny center of the brain and eliciting our wakeup. We are well rested and anxious to experience the cultural treasures that Kamakura will offer us on today’s walking tour, and the anticipated respite and refreshing soaks into the hot spa resort hotel in Atami. As we prepare for breakfast, Nathan notices that we have two navy patterned robes, in addition to the western terry cloth robes. Japanese style and design can be seen in the little indicative details, such as the H –presumably for Hilton- in the cotton lounging Yukata robes provided by the hotel that Nathan wore this morning.

Breakfast was a delicious table spread of continental and hot American breakfast, with a selection of Miso soup for Japanese breakfast takers; although I’m definitely one for trying new things, I passed on the hot seaweed broth for breakfaast and stuck with the western hot breakfast. On offer were many fruits and grains, yogurt, scrambled and made-to-order eggs, potatoes, sausages and bacon to name just the basics. And pastries were divine, made with true butter, not lard, which was such a pleasant surprise on par with French or Italian pastry chef delicacies. Unbelievably, even after two filling meals onboard Singapore Airlines and the comfort porridge dish last night, we were quite nosh; we enjoyed the opportunity to top-up and recharge our energy for full day ahead.

As we get underway, our tour guide Maiko outlines our trip this week and for today, Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Atami, Bath, Hot Spring, hotel, Japan, Journey, Kamakura, Kanto, Land Rising Sun, Onsen, ryokan., Tatami, Tokyo, Tokyo Aqua Line, traditional, travel, Trip