Gotenba, Chubu Region, Japan
Holidays in Japan usually start on the last day of December and until January 3 or 4th, but they can be early and/or extended depending on the company you worked for. Mine was til January 4, and so was my boyfriend's.
It was the last day of our Year End vacation (we call it 年末年始 read as nenmatsu nenshi meaning Year End and New Year holidays) when we did driving. It was my request if ever we don't go anywhere for a vacation. I like traveling but my boyfriend doesn't, so we had to meet in between.
I don't know how to drive so I'm always the passenger taking photos for the day, in charge of the map navigation, choosing songs to play in the car, and assisting the driver, ensuring he won't get thirsty and should be awake the whole time driving.
Ever since we moved to Tokyo 2 years ago, he wasn't able to drive anymore so he was a bit nervous and scared the entire driving duration. Plus, he's not used to the big car we rented. I wasn't nervous or scared at all, I know he's a good driver and I trusted him. Besides, I always bring my health insurance with me so if ever something happens, my insurance will help me. 😂
So yeah, we rented the car from Toyota's Rent-A-Car website. You can choose the date and where to pick it up. There are more rental car websites like Times Car, Orix, and many more. Actually, we checked these 3 websites and found Toyota the most convenient and suitable for us.
The transaction of getting the car was fast and smooth. Kudos to the staff working at Toyota Nakano branch. Surprisingly the car we rented was so big for the two of us. Next time, we should invite my friends. 😅
If you're asking why not my boyfriend's friends, well, he didn't have any in Tokyo except for his coworkers, who he doesn't want to see on his off day. 😂
Our destination was Gotemba Premium Outlets in Shizuoka Prefecture. Looking at the maps, it would take us around 2 hours to go there but we took almost 5 hours! 🤣
Why? Well, I've mentioned he got nervous and scared driving so to ensure he would calm down won't get into accidents, we had to stop by a few stopovers, taking our time to rest and toilet breaks too. Highway stopovers are fun too, with so many goods from that town being sold and promoted, dine-in and takeaway options for food, souvenirs, tons of vending machines, and gashapons! The entire stopover was already fun, felt like we did some window shopping there.
We also passed by tunnels, indicating we're almost near Gotemba. I remember a movie I watched before, I think that was The Perks of Being a Wallflower every time I pass by a tunnel. In that movie, the characters were having fun and even standing while driving in the tunnel. The opposite was happening to my boyfriend. He hated tunnels because he felt trapped and the road never ends. I was enjoying though, looking at him and the tunnel drive.
Along the way, bits of Mt. Fuji could be seen. I so love watching Mt. Fuji because I feel like getting positive energy from it. My bf though was so surprised that Fuji-san was so big and felt so near to us. I told him it was normal because Fuji-san is located nearby.
And we're finally here! The only traffic we encountered was around the Outlet Mall. And there were tons of parking lots, for free, and it seemed like we parked far. 😂 But it's okay LOL
Gotemba Premium Outlet had so many visitors, but I think this was normal here. Many people have come to shop before the holidays ended, and there were a bunch of foreigners too, probably tourists.
I thought my boyfriend would be shopping but it seemed like he wasn't in the mood. I think he was tired and still nervous, so he told me to go to the shops I wanted to visit. Of course, there would be a lot but hmm, my wallet and my credit cards were already complaining. 😅
While it's freezing cold outside, inside the shops were so hot my boyfriend was sweating. So when I was busy shopping inside Coach, he couldn't take it anymore and waited for me outside. Luckily there were benches so he was able to sit comfortably. I wouldn't force him to stay with me inside because I think he was at his limit. 😆
There was nothing that caught my eye in Coach so we went to Kate Spade, just beside it. There were tons of things I wanted to get but whenever I thought of my bills, I would be in dilemma.
My boyfriend encouraged me to buy what I wanted. After all, the discounts were just insane! So after debating internally, in my brain, I walked out of the store with a paper bag on my hand.
I spent around 30,000 JPY or around 233 USD for 2 things I bought. Will I be regretting this? 😜
Do you know what I bought? You can make a guess in the comments.
We continued our shopping walking tour. My boyfriend wanted to go to Nike Factory Store but he's kinda tired but I was able to convinced him as I guided the way there.
The last time I was here, during Golden Week in May which you can read in my previous post, Nike had a long queue outside but this time, there were no lines outside so we were able to immediately come inside. It was crowded inside though and nothing was interesting so we went out empty handed.
By the way, Mt. Fuji can be viewed from Gotemba Premium Outlets. It's so huge and just marvelous so if you're tired from shopping and walking around, just look for a seat and admire Fuji-san. 😅
At the bus terminal, one could get a nicer view of Mt. Fuji.
And speaking of bus, there's a bus from Shinjuku in Tokyo directly going to this Outlet Mall. Buses were also available going to Gotemba Station and nearby areas.
We entered few more stores like interior goods store Franc Franc and clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch before we decided to leave the Outlet Mall.
By the way, today's Friday! Don't forget to join #MarketFriday by @dswigle and see millions of markets around the world. Check out Market Friday on Hive to learn more about it.
It was an enjoyable time in Gotemba Premium Outlet. I've always wanted to come here with my boyfriend because I think he would enjoy but I wasn't sure if he did. Let's just assume he did, okay?
And a long drive again going home. Along the way, we encountered traffic, confusing directions, exited in the wrong way, and a narrow road for a big car we were riding on but we managed to return the car safely and just in time.
If you wanna know if I would do this again, of course I would! But my boyfriend said once a year's okay. I insisted on 2x a year though. Will I be able to convince him? Let's see what will happen this year. 😆
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.
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