Japan Trip: Hoto Noodles and Soft Ice Creams

One of the local food around Kawaguchiko is Hoto noodle. it is like udon with vegetables and pumpkin, served in a hot pot. This is a perfect food to be eaten in the cold weather and hungry stomach. me and travel partner eat hoto noodle twice. The first one in the restaurant above Hirai shop, and the second one in Houtou Fudou.

The first time we arrived at Kawaguchiko station, we still did not really know well about the location, so we when we were hungry and saw a restaurant in front Kawaguchiko station with Hoto noodles in its menu, we directly went in. From inside the restaurant, we can have a full view of mount fuji and Kawaguchiko station. When the food came, we were so happy because we were so hungry. The food taste good. I love to know that it only contain vegetables and pumpkin, because we rarely find food with only healthy composition in it. One portion was more than enough to stop you from wanting anymore food. While we ate, some fishermen came to enjoy the food too, they enjoyed dinner with hoto noodles and sake after tired working for the whole day.

the first hoto noodle

me and hoto noodle

we can even see mount fuji from the restaurant's window

Below the restaurant was a souvenir shop. We bought lots of snacks in here, from Blueberry cheesecake Kitkat to Green Tea Pocky Midi. And as souvenir, I bought fujisan club cookies that looks like mount Fuji with white chocolate as representation of mount Fuji's snow.

yummy fujisan club

The next day we went to another hoto noodles restaurant, names Houtou Fudou. This restaurant is ranked 5 among 36 restaurants in Kawaguchiko-machi. The location of Houtou Fudou is in front of Kawaguchiko station and its located across hoto noodle restaurant that we ate the day before.

The interior of the restaurant looks more traditional and more crowded than the previous restaurant. The looks of its Hoto Noodle also different in terms of its sauce. The taste is slightly better too.

Houtou Fudou's hoto noodle

my traveling partner with his hoto noodle

Another food that interested my traveling partner while we were around Kawaguchiko lake was green tea soft ice cream. I never thought that eating ice cream in cold weather would taste this good. We bought soft ice cream twice. The first one in the restaurant inside Kawaguchiko station, and the other one in the cafe near Kachi Kachi Ropeway. There were many taste of soft ice cream, but our favorite was only green tea. The funny thing is, I used to hate green tea taste, but after I came to Japan, I can't get enough of green tea. Weird.

the cafe that sold green tea ice cream

buying soft ice cream

somebody looks so happy with his ice cream

Besides hoto noodles and soft ice creams, we also bought Jagabee (buttery dried potato) and grapefruit. I interested to buy Jagabee because I often see girls walking in the street while munching Jagabee. While the jackfruit, I though it was an orange, because its color is orange and looks like a huge mandarin orange. But when I opened and found out that it was grapefruit, then I had a really tough time to eat it all up.

my favorite Jagabee

the surprising grapefruit  

XOXO,
The Tourist