We took several day tours from Tokyo -- and missed out on many others. Thanks to the JR rail pass and the well-connected rail network, taking day trips while spending nights in Tokyo (or nearby suburbs, as we did) seemed the logical thing to do.
Located about 124 km from Tokyo, it's a relatively straightforward journey to Nikko. We set off bright and early (is there any other time that the Arunkumar family sets off?) to the pretty little town of Nikko, nestled in the Tochigi Prefecture.
The day was freezing, starting with sub-zero temperatures, but we got the Nikko travel pass, which allowed us to take the heritage bus route to various spots around town.
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| Just one the things we spotted around Nikko |
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| Street lamps wit character |
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| Shinkyo of the twin snakes |
Our first stop was the Shinkyo bridge - a small bridge across the Daiya, which is considered the entrance to Nikko's shrines.
It has an interesting legend attached to it. One that involves red and blue snakes. The current wooden bridge was built in the 1600s and looks pretty enough.
From here, we headed to the most famous shrine in Nikko, the Toshugu Shrine and Taiyuin, which is the mausoleum. They are both fantastic examples of Buddhist and Shinto architecture, along with the Rinnoji temple.
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| A lovely little thing near the Toshugu shrine |
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| The roof detail at Taiyuin |
Much like a lot of Hindus, the Japanese visit temples in the new year to seek the blessings of the Buddha. The queues for the blessing scrolls were inordinately long. (Much like a lot of Hindu temples, here too, we spotted blessing scrolls for good health, good wealth, and, of course, 'good studies'.) We skipped these, paid our obeisance and went on to enjoy the shrine and mausoleum in relative peace and quiet.
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| The three monkeys that see no evil, speak no evil and hear no evil |
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| The Sozonozo Elephants were carved by sculptors who had never seen elephants |
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| Nemuri Neko or the sleeping cat, carved by sculptor Hidari Jingorō during the Edo period |
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| More of the detailed roof and Taiyuin |
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| Each one was unique |
This was the day that I wasn't looking forward to- and the day that child 2 and the baa-lamb we most looking forward to. The visit to the famous Fuji Q theme park. Famous for several reasons:
- It's a theme park with a spectacular view of Mount Fuji (yay!)
- The reason child 2's eyes lit up- it is home to some of the most extreme roller coasters in the world. (barf! No, actually, barf! My motion sickness acts up at the most inconvenient times, and I really didn't want to end up throwing up all over myself - or random strangers.)
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| We did get to see some pretty spectacular views along the way |
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| The Kanadorii Torii- the entrance to the realm of Mt Fuji |
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| Even the drains covers were pretty! |
We took the Shinkansen and then a picturesque local train to Fuji Q. Along the way, we stopped at Fujiyoshida city to click pictures of the iconic Kanadorii and Mt. Fuji before heading over to Fuji Q Highland. We were greeted at the station, which seemed to be right out of Child 1's childhood fantasy.
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| Oh, how this took me back to the time when child 1 knee-high and knee-deep in trains |
The rollercoaster had really long queues, but OMG were they eyewateringly good. Yes, eye-wateringly. Because at that speed, the eye does water. I wisely skipped the rides that go round and round rather than up and down - those are complete vomit-comets for me. Naturally, child 2 and the baa-lamb (honestly, sometimes, the biggest of babies) had to be dragged out of there, and we nearly missed the last train back. I had to practically hold the station master ransom while these two sprinted across the barrier.
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| Aizuwakamatsu station |
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| Akabeko - the papier mache cow |
Aizu Wakamatsu was a beautiful traditional town, and we took the one-day pass to do the loop from Aizu Wakamatsu station to the major tourist attractions,
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| The town bus that does the loop from the station. |
which included a Samurai castle, a temple where a bunch of teenage samurai committed ritual suicide, and some charming village scenes.
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| The famous Taroan "Tenjin of Aizu" sweet shop |
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| Houses and street signs full of character. |
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| The beautiful mountainscapes surrounding Aizu |
We then decided to take the
Tadami line, which crosses the Tadami River bridge and offers spectacular views of the surrounding scenery.
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| The snowscape that is the Tadami line |
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The line overlooks these beautiful
backyards. Made us almost want to stop and
wander into the houses.
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| This station has cat stationmasters. Yup. The current stainmaster, I think, is Sakura |
However, clearly we misread the signs and we climbed aboard the wrong train and we ended up in the middle of nowhere. That didn't stop us from really enjoying the snowy countryside, and we were completely confident that the goodness of the Japanese folk would eventually land us back in Tokyo. And they didn't disappoint. We did make our way safely back to Tokyo, all ready to head over to the airport the following day.
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| Perfect snowflakes on my glove |
We spent two weeks in Japan, and I still think it wasn't enough. We had such a wonderful time, and I most definitely need to go back and revisit the places that we regretfully decided to skip. Maybe in autumn, or spring, when I'm sure there will be a totally different side of Japan that we will witness. But until next time, mata ne, Nippon.
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| Our last few memories of this beautiful country |
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| Beautiful. Peaceful. |
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| Full of myths and legends. And the warmest people with the biggest heart. |
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