Nikko Apr 2010

---

Nikko is just 2hrs away from Tokyo, which makes it a good short getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life. We set off from Tokyo early in the morning so that we can reach Nikko early and have more time to explore, afterall we will be leaving for Sendai next day noon time. When we reached Nikko it was only 10plus in the morning but we spent an hour looking for our accomodation as it wasn't near the train station. We weren't too upset with this though cos the weather was good and the town is pretty. This is what I like best about free and easy travel. You get to explore the place at your own pace and can discover much more than just its major attractions.

Accomodation is a cosy lodge hidden in the residential area. It would be nice if it wasn't so far away from the main road. Once we've placed our backpacks in the lodge, we headed for Lake Chuzenji. We purchased a 2-day bus pass that allowed us to have unlimited bus trips all the way to Lake Chuzenji. It made travelling in Nikko easy as we could get to many of the other attractions as well, but still, be prepared to do lots of walking in Nikko.

Lake Chuzenji is very peaceful, probably cos there were few people around. I wonder if it's cos it was still very cold. Even though it's April already, there was still leftover snow on the ground. Over here, there is also a Keigon Falls to see. The volume of water from the waterfall isn't much maybe because winter was just over. The bus ride back to town was quite interesting as there were many sharp turns down the winding road.

We went in search of the Kanmangafuchi Abyss after that and this wasn't easy to find. This attraction is made up of little stone statues and many had red hats and bibs on. I thought it was a little creepy walking through here.

There's nothing much to do here at night so we returned to the lodge after dinner. Anyway, it was so cold so I couldn't wait to get back to the warm fireplace. We had to start the next day early too as we had to cover the 4 famous shrines before heading to Sendai the next day.

The shrines open at 8am and we reached even earlier. Had to wait for the obaasan at the ticket counter to come so that we could buy the combination ticket to all 4 shrines. It's a very good deal, only 1000yen for all 4. We had the 1st shrine all to ourselves, simply cos we were too early. Had a good stroll and appreciating the shrine architecture at the same time. At the Toshogu Shrine, there's the famed 3 Monkeys- See no evil, Hear no evil, Say no evil. By the time we reached the 3rd and 4th shrine, things wasn't as interesting anymore cos everything seems to look similar. But still, it was a nice peaceful experience.

Nikko is famous for its Yuba, which is beancurd skin. It's good but after having it for 2 meals, I was craving for meat quite badly. Was happy to have some pork for dinner in Sendai.

---

Photos

Lunch
Traditional japanese eatery and the menu is all in japanese