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Published: August 8th 2006
Outside The Station
This is what you see while walking out of Nikko Station. It pretty much is the extent of "downtown."Konnichi wa!
I’m writing this from a very cool day in Japan. For the first time, it’s actually comfortable to be outside. The temperature for the past two days has been in the 70s and I love it. Add to that the fact that it’s been in the upper 90s back home in the Midwest, and I am one very happy guy.
Last weekend once my cousin Emma got here we immediately went down to the train station and introduced her to the bullet trains that I have come to know like the back of my hand. On Saturday we headed out for Nikko. We had heard from people who live here that it is a cool city to spend the day in. Needless to say we were surprised to get out at the station to find what seemed like a ghost town. Unlike the big cities I had been to so far, Nikko is a tiny little place full of Ma & Pop Stores and little restaurants. We jumped on the bus and started on the parade of temples and shrines. While waiting in line we met two brothers from England who are also here for the summer. We were
It's Open!
One of the few temples or shrines that was not under construction during our visit. lucky to meet them if for no other reason than it was fun to hang out with them while we went from one temple to another admiring the scaffolding. Yes, apparently we picked the wrong time to see what little sites the city has to offer because the whole place seemed to be under construction. It was disappointing but things picked up when a troop of drunken Japanese businessmen wondered up to us and started a conversation. Needless to say ridiculousness ensued.
The next morning Emma and I again got up early and took off for Nara. I had read about Nara before leaving home and wanted to visit it because it has a few claims to fame. I wanted to see Todai-ji Temple, the largest wooden structure in the world. It was an impressive building on its own but inside is something even more amazing. The centerpiece is the Vairocana Buddha, the largest sitting bronze Buddha in the world. It’s 50 feet tall and an entire person can fit in one nostril . . . sadly I was not allowed close enough to prove that.
Another big reason to make the trip to Nara is that you can play
River Crossing
A cool old bridge. So cool, you had to pay to walk across it. with wild deer. The huge city park in the center of all the attractions is home to hundreds of deer that run free and interact with the visitors. There are little old ladies sitting around selling crackers to feed to the deer for a couple of bucks. The deer will literally walk right up to you and take the food from your hand. They will even stand there and let you pet them while they munch. Since my only interaction with deer before now has been slamming on car brakes to avoid hitting them at 1:00 AM coming home on 38th Street hill, I thought that this was all pretty cool.
So, those were the last couple of trips I made around the country while my rail pass was still valid. From this point on I’ll just be taking local trains to places not too far away from Tokyo. I’ll get more stories and pictures up soon.
Until then,
PEACE
Travel Tip For The Complete Dumbass #4
“If you decide to feed one wild deer, make sure you have enough food to give to every deer in a twelve block vicinity.” You are wrong if you think you can
Our British Buddies
Emma and I with the English blokes. offer a cracker to one friendly deer and then not have 40 others run toward you and bite at your pants when you don’t have anything to give to them.
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Susan
non-member comment
Fuji
Glad to hear you made it to Nara. Hopefully you have a chance to study a bit of Buddism and Shinto.(?) Are you going to Mt. Fuji?