KimEB's: Nikko

After quite the adventure in Tokyo, I took the troops to Nikko. This was a last minute addition to the trip...as in, I told them as we were walking out the door on the way to Tokyo. Since I had just found out that there were rooms available, I hadn't prepared for this trip. Luckily, it wasn't too chilly. Although, I did wish that I had packed a heavier coat! Below is the Japanese style inn where we stayed.

Here is the front of the building. Since we arrived here at about 8 pm, we had trouble finding it. It was about 2 hours to Tokyo and then about 3 hours past that to Nikko. I was super excited to explore while driving my own car, because so far, I have been too chicken to do it alone. It was awesome to let loose on the expressway for awhile, but I was super blown away by the toll at the end of the road...about 6500 Yen or $75.00. That's just the way of the world here in Japan, but if you have a carload of folks, it's much cheaper that riding the train.

Here we are in front of the hotel, with my car too!

As I mentioned before, this is a Japanese style inn. So, there were tatami mats (which are Japanese mats made of straw) with futons (just the futon type mattress) to sleep on for the night. This one even had a TV, which is pretty uncommon. There was also a little table to sit and socialize. One important rule is to take your shoes off at the door of your room, because you don't wear shoes on tatami...ever! You also have to be careful not to tear it, so don't move things around a lot. Typically, whole families sleep together in one room. So, this was the Henry-Buis room.

And this was the Souther room.

One of the best things about living in Japan is the Japanese shower room. It is an entire room of tile so you can shower off and clean thoroughly before stepping into the tub to soak. You never get into a bath while still dirty. Always, clean yourself first, sometimes even more than once just to be sure. Soaking in super hot water is very popular here. The water in this tub came from a natural hot spring nearby. So, it kept running in like a waterfall. The room was super steamy and the water was very hot. It felt fantastic! What I wouldn't give to have one of these in my house!

Our first day here, we walked to the Temples and Shrines which are all National Heritage Sights. This is the first town that I have been to in Japan that was old school and surrounded by mountains, so I thought this place was heavenly. Everything smelled so crisp and clean and there weren't many foreigners, which made things authentically Japanese. I have found that where there are more foreigners, sometimes the culture and traditions get a bit diluted.

The seasons are slightly different here (in Japan), so Mom and company got to see changing trees again.

This is the Sacred Bridge. It was beautiful set against the woods and the changing colors.

After walking past the bridge, we took a steep hike up trails to the site. In this small area, there are many Shrines, Temples, and other buildings. I tried to keep track of them all, but honestly they all ran together. Sometimes you would go in one way and out another and have no idea what you were looking at. Like I said, there aren't many foreigners here, so nothing was in English. The first area that we came upon was Sanbutudo, previously called Rinnoji Temple. Now, don't be confused...on a Temple or Shrine's grounds, there are many, many buildings. So here are some of them pictured below.

These are the temple gates, or Torii gates. Historically, these gates are found outside Shinto Shrines, but throughout history, Buddhist and Shinto architecture have melded together sharing some commonalities. Torii gates mark the entrance to a sacred place, and many can be found in and around sacred places around the world. Very literally, their meaning can be translated to leaving the profane and entering the sacred. The oldest one in the world is supposedly in Japan...I hope to make it there at some point.

I had to turn around at the gates to get this view. This is only part of the trail leading up to the compound. We walked so much during Mom's entire vacation! Ruth had a pedometer and recorded that we walked on average about 6.5-7 miles each day!

These three monkeys are part of a carving on the sacred stable. They are popular now, because they stand for see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. But, those three postures actually were derived from the 3 Major Principles of the Tendai sect of Buddhism brought to Japan by a Chinese monk in the 8th century.

This is the revolving library. Inside, there is an octagonal revolving book shelf that contains a complete collection of scriptures.

Here I am standing at the Yomeimon Gate. It is also called the Sunset Gate, because it's so beautiful that people don't get tired of looking at it until it's dark and they can see no more. It was definitely worth taking my time. It was huge and had amazing details.

This is Latham and I outside the entrance to the Temple of the Sleeping Cat. Little did I know that once I stepped through the gate, I would have to climb about a billion stairs just to look at an old tree that was struck by lightening and some supposed bones buried deep within the earth. And, I didn't even get a prayer plaque at the top...what was I thinking?! I really could have benefited from an English speaking guide at this point.

I am such a stubborn person that I don't stop once I start. So, I pushed through to the top even though I felt like I was going to die. Here are Mom, Latham and Ruth climbing. They were smart and took many breaks along the way.

This was the gate at the top.

This view is me standing on the Temple grounds looking out toward the Torii gates to the outside. This ring is made of wood has Shime (strips of white paper) tied all over it. These papers are place at the entrances of holy places to ward off evil spirits.

This is an interesting fountain that I saw along the way. The water is coming out of the dragon's mouth.

This is the Shoyo-en or strolling garden. It's design is typical of the Edo period of Japan from about 1600-1800. It is said to be a great place to walk and meditate, and I believe it. It was extremely peaceful here.

Here we all are enjoying our Thanksgiving day lunch. I had Yuba, which is the local, Nikko style tofu. I thought it was fabulous and can't wait to eat some again! It was far from the normal Thanksgiving fare. I've already informed Mom that since I missed Thanksgiving and Christmas, when I get home, I want a 4th of July feast with all the fixins.

Mmmmm....Yuba! I ordered the set special, and it just kept coming out. There were about 15 different types of tofu that came with my meal. I couldn't eat much of it and of course the others weren't thrilled to try my tofu!

After a tiring day in Nikko visiting the Temples and Shrines, we decided to drive to a waterfall that we heard was worth visiting. We had to drive up the side of the Iroha-zaka slope. This route used to be closed to women based on a Buddha rule, but is now open to anyone attempting to drive the twists and turns. I, of course, had a blast driving it. Especially because it was one way up and another way down. I had a great time driving like Rusty Wallace, but I don't think my passengers thought the same.

Once at the top, we rode this cable car to a lookout to see the waterfalls from afar. Before we even got in, we made friends with some retired Japanese business men. They offered around some carmel corn puffs and everyone was hooked. They just kept talking to us and laughing. Who knows?!

Here are Mom, Harold, Ruth, and Latham at the top. I have no idea how they weren't freezing without many heavy coats. I was turning blue at this point.

These arrows were at the top to help you determine what you were looking out at. For your reference...I live on the Kanto Plains.

Here is the thermometer...10 degrees Celsius equals 50 degrees Fahrenheit...and blustery too!

Here's the view. You can see Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls. It is said to reflect the sacred image of Mt. Nantai (the nearby volcano) as it did in sacred times. It looks like it's straight out of a movie. If it were warmer, I would have stayed longer to enjoy the scenery, but as it was, I booked right back to the ropeway.

Here are our Japanese friends getting one last picture of us. They had already snaked into our pictures at the top. They are so funny!

Oh, here's one with my new Japanese friend. He evens out our group though. Ha!

Near the parking lot to get on the ropeway, there were all these wild monkeys. This was the first time that I had seen wild monkeys actually in the wild and not in a zoo. It was super cool to see them up close.

However, after Mom and folks became addicted to the carmel corn puffs, they practically bought out the store and were chowing down all while hanging out my windows and taking pictures. The monkeys started getting closer and closer and then this one jumped up on the guardrail right next to the car...I think not...that's when I yelled, close the windows!

After that wild adventure, we continued on to the actual waterfalls. The Ojiri River flows from Lake Chuzenji and corroded the lava from Mt. Nantai, making the quartz brilliant in the bright light of day.

Here were are in front of the falls. I was still freezing!

Surrounding Kegon Falls are twelve other significant waterfalls which when running together makes a great thunder. It is relaxing while still letting you know it's power.

And now for the long road back...at this point, we had already spent so much time in the car that we were just ready to be back home. But, nothing ever goes as planned. Even though I borrowed a GPS from a friend, we found out that GPS only works while we are outside of Tokyo and Yokohama. Otherwise, it just takes you in circles. So, for about 5-6 hours, we drove around. I think Mom was a little frustrated.

The backseat crew was in good spirits...at least for awhile. We ended up eating our Thanksgiving dinner at a rest stop along the way. It was a delicious dinner (the last one served) of hamburgers and shrimp cutlets with french fries. Needless to say, we laughed until we cried.

We saw so many beautiful sights along the way, and everyone was yelling at Latham to take the good shots. But, he rarely succeeded because there was always a wall or bridge in the way. It became a running joke that every time he was ready to shoot, a wall blocked his view.