Blogs from Nikko, Tochigi, Japan, Asia - page 4

Let’s go..Nikko !! Leaving the buzz of Tokyo we travelled two hours North of Tokyo to Nikko. Using my flash JR pass (Japanese Rail pass) for the first time, we boarded the super fast bullet train. I have been on trains, fast ones, in Europe. But I have never been on a bullet train. Like all train tickets, the carriage number is printed on it, but unlike most places the carriage number is also clearly labelled on the ground. The platform even has a box so you can line up, so when it comes you can hop on the train without the hassle of wandering aimlessly up and down looking for your carriage. Inside was really spacious, with lots of leg room, a table and even a ‘in train shop magazine’ just like the duty shopping ... read more

Nikko ******************************************* This must be the shortest entry in my notes for 26 Feb. It, apart from the printout of train timetables, consists of a single word : Nikko ******************************************* This was the last day of our 7-day JR pass and I wanted to use it to the maximum extent, so even though going to Nikko by Tobu railways would have been much more direct and simpler, we decided to follow the Tokyo-Utsunomiya-Nikko route. We already had the reservations. Nikko is up in the hills so it is colder than Tokyo. We dressed accordingly. Somewhere in my reading I had come across this tidbit: There is a proverb in Japanese “Do not say ‘kekko’ (a spontaneous ‘Beautiful!’) till you have seen Nikko”. So, naturally, our expectations about Nikko were quite high. I am happy to report ... read more

I have not written any blogs recently mainly because I have not gone anywhere. So after a long time and many messages from travelblog saying We want you back I am writing again. If you wonder at the strange title for the blog, my explanation is as follows. We live in depressing times. It’s a never ending stream of bad news showing neither any signs of slowing down nor changing its course. Factories are on a lay-off sprees, each competing with the other in the daily announcements. As someone recently said its doom and gloom everywhere To take a holiday in such times can either be stupidity or pure optimism. I would like to think that I suffer from the latter. However I had to identify a place which was economical but still gave the feeling ... read more

I think I figured out the bath thing: I need to take my shaving gear in. The 10 minutes it takes gives me time to cool down before the next dip. I must also be doing something else right if when I walk in a guy nods at me (now just wait a second before you get the wrong idea there!), gives me a big smile to say hello, and after I've been washing a while grunts and smiles again, gesturing to the bath, trying to tell me that's enough and I can go in the water now. Population, Earthquakes, Architecture and the Japanese Character I think I can explain why the Japanese are so polite. I can't be the first one to think of this I'm sure, but it sounds plausible. Japan has always ... read more

Over the weekend we headed North to Nikko, Japan. It was about a 2 hour train ride. Most of the Japanese people on the train are very excited to be on the train. What I mean about excited is they are drinking heavily at 8:00 am in the morning. We made some "friends" outside the train station who happily pulled us into pictures with them. Turns out they were staying at the same hotel as us so we saw a lot of them. One guy said "ok" to me at least 28 times. It was our first taste of fall this year. The trees were beautiful and it was very cold. We spent the morning and early afternoon walking around some shrines and temples that were all conveniently located right by each other. We checked out ... read more