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Published: October 7th 2012
Walking around temples
A beautiful and quiet place; a complete contrast to Tokyo....Changing trains at Utsunomiya for a more sedate ride to Nikko, we were looking forward to visiting this World Heritage area. We weren't sure what to expect but many people travel to this area for a day or two because of the magnficent shrines and temples. Mountains loomed in the distance, and as the little train rounded a corner about 50 trainspotters with telephoto lenses set up on tripods broke out in a frenzy. Never mind the magnificent scenery behind them. Alighting at the station, it was a fair walk up to our accommodation and after consulting with a helpful elderly man, we decided to check in and then find medical help. Suffice to say that Dean wasn't happy, Eleanor was tired and my ear felt like it was about to explode so the walk up the hill felt worse than it probably would have been under ideal conditions.
The next hour of my life was more stressful than teaching preps PE (aka 'rounding up cats'😉. Despite some very helpful people at the library and information centre, I conceded that finding medical help was about as likely as me winning a Brownlow on the half forward flank for Carlton. Pointed
About to board the Nikko train
The coolest weather so far Japan. in the direction of the 'pharmacy' we set off hopefully, keeping our eyes peeled for obvious signs. Luckily we noticed a fluttering flag with a boy elephant dressed as a doctor and a girl elephant dressed in nurse's attire (cartoon style of course) which led us to...a portable building the size of a small shed. The elderly chemist (or the chemist's nanna) was lovely and through some great mime work, we purchased what we hoped was ear medicine and painkillers in a transaction lasting over ten minutes.
We took our parcel back to the Information centre, where the packaging was roughly translated. Fairly confident I wasn't going to lose an organ, I gulped the painkillers quickly. Within ten minutes I was in a numb state of joy. Lunch at a cafe (but it could have been lunch in someone's kitchen too because there were three women who all looked like Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie fussing over pots and pans in close proximity) was reminiscent of a 1970s kitchen/dining room. Nice noodles, however.
Ignoring my ear problem (it could wait now the pain was gone) we decided to walk along one of the tourist trails to get into the
About to climb 700+ steps
A little unprepared for this leg of the journey. spirit of the place. I was also keen to visit Michibiki Jiko, three conveniently located Buddhist deities, two of whom are believed to "heal and cure the ear disease". Unfortunately we took the upper trail which involved staggering up over 700 uneven stone steps. Whilst a beautiful stroll, taking you past shrines and monuments, it was also hard work and despite my best map reading efforts, I was only able to locate one of the monuments on the brochure (Kitano shrine, a God of study). I had wanted to see that, but there was a stone (Tegake Stone) which is believed has a power of improvement in schoolwork and handwriting that I particularly wanted Eleanor to touch for luck. Tiredness, Eleanor's bladder and an inability to read Japanese thwarted my quest. I didn't push to see the miracle Jizo, who would cure me of my rotting ear, so we went back to the Lodge.
Dean was itching to have a bath in the onsen, so as he was giving himself third degree burns in water hot enough to cook a cray, Eleanor and I were laughing like fat giggling spiders. He thought we weren't taking the situation seriously and
wasn't happy that we were not prepared to give it a go. Eleanor poked her toe in and quickly declared that it was too hot. I did likewise. The water was not hot like back at home (with our temperature controls); it was boiling hot. How Dean managed to stay in for those few minutes is a testament to his determination, or it may have been that he boiled his brain and lost feeling.
As we were staying a little way out of town, we ended up having a very simple dinner we had purchased from some shops during the afternoon. The little television provided some wholesome family entertainment consisting of game shows, games shows and some more game shows. Sleeping on futons and hard pillows ("Hard as rocks," says Dean) we fell asleep to the sound of water from the creek flowing past our window.
We awoke early to catch a ride to the train station. A basic breakfast was provided so we took the opportunity to munch on some toast and drink some very hot green tea. The vending machines on the platform didn't disappoint - one even dispensed what looked like a long black coffee.
Under renovation
Many buildings throughout our visit to Japan were undergoing renovations - and all were covered in buildings like these. We couldn't read the labels, of course, so from the pictures we were able to order some hot drinks which would keep us going until the next station.
The morning basically consisted of getting to know the Japanese rail system in more detail. A journey on the Nikko line once again to Utsunomiya and then a quick change of platforms for the train to Nagoya went without a hitch. From there we changed trains to Takayama. It was all so seamless!
Ear update: waking up in Nikko, a jumping giant insect (suspiciously looking like a spider) made me move a little faster than usual. My ear was not too bad until Dean looked at it and proclaimed that it needed lancing. With years of medical training under his belt at the Deirdre Andrew School of Medicine, he proceeded to poke and prod with a cotton bud (with a little help from my fingernail). The volcano exploded and hearing returned, in an albeit muffled way.
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nicky
non-member comment
japan
jane, this blog needs to be published, its hysterical - your stories of ill health are incredibly amusing - (sorry!)