Part I - Travel: We get up early with the plan set to just check out of the Sunroute hotel in Odaiba and head to Nikko as early as possible. By this time I had come to the realization I was sick and there was no way we could do half of the activities I originally had planned in Nikko. With the activites for the day drastically reduced from 3 temples and some Nature hiking (I really wanted to see the Kegon Waterfall) cut down to just one major temple, we set off to meet to meet everyone in the lobby and depart. With some of us late, we end up leaving a little later then planned and finally depart at 8:15 with just the one needed bag for our overnight stay. The rest of the luggage would be left at the hotel so we wouldn't be dragging it all around Nikko just for just one night there. More on this decision to follow in Day 11.
Train train train! Got to northern Tokyo, transferred to the Shinkansen. Got off Shinkansen, transferred to the JR line going to Nikko. There was confusion on how to buy the tickets and what train we were supposed to get on exactly. Up to this point we had just been taking Shinkansen by using our JR passes, so it was a bit of a confusing mess that I had no patience for with a cold. Finally we got to the Nikko station at about 11:00. It was a much longer commute then I had mapped out, for reasons I have yet to figure out. Most estimates I saw/see online say Nikko is about 1 hour North of Tokyo, so even coming from Odaiba I cannot figure out how it took 3 hours total.
Part II - Getting lost: Already frustrated by the transfers and length of time the initial travel took, we arrive at Nikko Station only to be completely lost. Information and maps were not readily available online for Nikko, so I was working off of the two tourist maps I was able to locate, which were little to no help. After discussing our route with both the workers at the station and police inside a nearby koban, we decide to hop on a bus heading in the generally correct direction.
While waiting for the bus to arrive (which was a good 30 minutes), we take in some scenery around us. Luckily it wasn't nearly as cold as we had been preparing for and there was no longer a thick coat of snow on the ground. Instead we were greeted by 40-45F weather and partly cloudy skies. It was a pleasant surprise in an otherwise bad day so far. Once finally on the bus we learned, unfortunately, it would not take us to our destination. After another discussion with someone who was taking the bus who spoke English, it turns out the bus had the final destination in the opposite direction of where we needed to be, so we needed to get off. It was a good mile from our Ryokan, but we got off at the next stop and began the walk, which was mainly uphill. At this point I was so glad we only had one bag each, but was also exhuasted and not feeling good, so I don't remember much other then being frustrated by the day so far.Part III - Ryokan: Somehow we managed to locate the Ryokan, which was off of a side street. I was nervous as when we first arrived, there was a building on our right that had the name "Nikko Green Hotel" on it and was nothing more then someones house, or so it looked. After knocking and waiting a few minutes, I decided to take a walk around and actually discover that there is a hotel-sized building across the street from the place we were waiting at. Once inside, we learn it is "only" 1pm (far cry from the 11am-noon I was planning on originally) and check-in was not until 3pm. We leave our bags however and head off to see what would end up being the only site of the day.
Part IV - Toshugu Shrine: Other then Kegon Waterfall, which I had realized would not be possible, this was where I really wanted to go in Nikko. This Shrine houses the 3 National Treasure carvings, including the original "hear/see/speak no evil" monkies, and Tokugawa Ieyasu's tomb.
We stop at a noodle shop quickly for some lunch, off of the main street we had to take to get to all of the Shrines. It was pretty good food, but very confusing for again, the lack of English. Kind of salty too, instead of flavorful, but I didn't feel much like eating so it might have had something to do with it. The walk to Toshogu ended up being pretty long, but we also stopped a few time to take in the very nice scenery. Along the way we stopped at Taisha shrine, which was a little moss-covered stone tori (gate) and shrine/alter. It was a very peaceful area. Some time around 3pm we finally arrive at Toshugu Shrine, I was afraid we were lost by this point because the length of the walk.
We buy our tickets and get inside. I was finally happy after getting here, as right near the entrance they had the monkey carvings. It was so cool to see the "original" hear/say/see no evil carvings and what they were originally a part of. Got a lot of pictures here. The informational boards were actually in English too, so it was very cool. I finally felt we accomplished something for the day.
After reading through the map/brochure for the place, we continue further inside. They pretty much had the walkway set up like a tour, so you couldn't really miss anything. The remaining carvings and tomb were really awesome to see, on top of that there were cute little stone turtles on the side of the pathways. The walk up to the Tomb was very taxing, but worth it just to feel the atmosphere of the place, it was unlike any other site we visited in Japan, very heavy air about it. We stay up here for awhile and get some very cool pictures. The trees and landscape surrounding the area were gorgeous.
Inside the Shrine itself, they were doing restoration, however it was still open. The walkway was covered in informational boards regarding the process, what had been done and what was still being done. This was also very unique as the only site we saw that was still able to be observed during the restoration period.
Part V - Walk back and Dinner: I was still feeling pretty bad from the cold and was very exhausted after the hike to the tomb, so come 4:30pm or so when we were nearing the end of the Shrine, it was time to head back to the Ryokan. Matt split off from the rest of the group and walked back alone, where he snapped a few nice pictures of the area. Myself and the rest of the group went the way of the main road and stopped at a few local shops to grab a couple of O-Miyage before heading back to the Ryokan where dinner would be ready shortly.
Upon my arrival back in our room, I'm greeted with the great view from our window, which was just next door to Brandon and Donnie's room. It was a nice view and I was enjoying it until the news came our toilet was broken. So, to top off how badly my day had gone so far, we were swiftly relocated to a room on the clear opposite side of the building (a good 5 minute walk from this original room) and put in a room with a horrible view of the road and traffic. It was very displeasing, but with inn keepers that didn't speak English (or at least not well), there wasn't much I could do. All because of a stupid broken toilet, it didn't make sense to me at all.
Dinner was being served downstairs at 6pm. It was a full-course Japanese meal and was a very authentic experience. We struggled with what half of the food was and the proper way to eat it all, but that was half of the fun and the only other part of the day that I actually enjoyed. After a very full experience of cooking shabu-shabu and eating nearly everything laid out before us, it was time to head back to our respective rooms for a few moments before going down to the Onsen.
Part VI - Fail: When we first arrived, we reserved our private spots in the Onsen for 8pm. This gave me about 15 minutes to go back to our room, change into the yukata and go meet Donnie at her room to go downstairs to the Onsen together. As far as I knew, that wouldn't be an issue. However, once I arrive at Donnie's room, there is nobody there. I wait around for a few minutes and finally figure she went downstairs without me for whatever reason. However, again, with the lack of English I am guided to the wrong Onsen and end up unable to find anyone. Completely done with the day I return to our room, take a crappy short shower and turn in for the night. Later I find out the clock on her room's wall was about 10 minutes fast, so she went down to the Onsen without me so not to be late, little did I know where that even was. I was guided to only the "public" bath and not the reserved one when I went down to find her, so my day ended with another misunderstanding.
Don't get me wrong though, Nikko was gorgeous. I would just never recommend it as a day or one night trip. I would say you need at least three to experience anything they have to offer there. With myself having a cold and travel times being much higher then expected, my day simply turned out this way instead of what it should have been.
Prices:
- ¥3,500 - Each Shinkansen ticket
- ¥1,600 - Lunch for two.
- ¥3,000 - Toshugu Shrine, full tickets (two).
- ¥3,000 - Misc. O-miyage
- Travel to Nikko from Odaiba is extremely long with a lot of transfers.
- Ryokans are interesting, but I wouldn't really recommend this one, for the crappy room we ended up with compared to the one I booked alone.
- Toshugu Shrine is totally worth the visit and hiking.
- Ryokan dinners are facinating, but not really that delicious (shabu-shabu was good though).
- Ryokans are very noisy at night, lots of drunk people.
- Onsen reservations are confusing when nobody speaks English.
- Don't go to Nikko for any less then a three day period.
No comments:
Post a Comment