Yubagozen Miyazaki Nikko

... to take a connecting local train to Nikko itself.

Once at Nikko, navigation was easy: we just followed all the other tourists. Since it was the weekend, the town was packed with tourists. We stopped by a post office to get some money from the ATM (only the second time I've ever used an ATM!). After about a 15 minute walk, we made it up to the Shinkyo Bridge. I was a nice red bridge that crossed over a deep canyon lined ...

... a little air dryer for your backside). There's an internal fan that comes on to avoid any unpleasant odors. There's probably a button to cause wheels to appear so you can drive the thing down the street... Anyway, suffice it to say that the Japanese have advanced the technology of toilets.

Now, could somebody explain to them to adopt toilet paper with a little more heft than single ply?

...oder wir zu ihm.

Tja, jeder, der eines Tages vor hat, Japan zu erkunden, der kann getrost einen grossen Bogen um Nikko machen, ausser man steht auf Pensionistenstadt und absolut totes Nachtleben. Eins muss man dem kleinen Oertchen lassen, es gibt echt schoene, gruene Waelder, Berge und einen sehr netten Fluss. Dort haben wir auch ein schoenes Plaetzchen zum Zeit totschlagen gefunden, weil`s ja sonst nichts gibt.

Wir haben uns ...

Note to self: Don't create passwords with strange characters when you're going to have to use a foreign keyboard...

Returned to the ryokan for dinner and met some of the other guests. Two couples from Australia and one from Germany. Had (an amazing) dinner with the Ozzies. Eventually I'll get photos up, but think fish, rice, sashimi ...

Nun, gestern haben wir schweren Herzens mein geliebtes Tokyo hinter uns gelassen und haben unsere erste Shinkansenfahrt gen Nikko angetreten.
Es gab ein paar Zeitprobleme, allerdings fahren diese Zuege so ca. alle 20 min, darum war das dann auch nicht wirklich ein Problem. Allerdings kamen wir genau wie vorhergesagt, jedoch nicht wie geplant irgendwann nach 6, also dann, als schon finster war, in der menschenleeren Kleinstadt... naja, im Vergleich zu ...

Today I went on my first outing on my lonesomen (without the aid of my guide Toshimi). I decided to go Nikko, a town north of Tokyo which features an interesting temple, a beautiful lake, and a fresh mountain air experience. After a little confusion at the train station I finally got on the right train which would take me north of Tokyo and toward my destination. Half of the fun of using the train as transportation is you get to see a ...

... Tobu Nikko station, I walked up to Rinnyoji temple by way of Shinkyo Sacred Bridge. It was farther and more boring than I had expected, but the long distance walk was a good exercise.

There was the shrine, Toshogu, just a few minutes walk away from Rinnyoji temple. That is the best spot of Nikko with elaborate architectures and fine arts. One of the most famous arts is "Three Wise ...

... cross the river--you go over the bridge and then turn back and exit where you came in. This is where tourism has trumped reason and functionality. It's impressive, in a horrifying way. I think I can say I've seen a fair amount of temples and Rinnoji is rather overrated. It's large, has a nice main hall, but nothing really special, maybe except it's red paint? But Toshogu is really impressive--it's definitely Chinese in style, if the gaudy colors are ...

... je popri ceste toľko, ze je asi iba otázkou času, kedy nás nejaký z nich vyfotí. Ďalsia vec, čo by sa nervóznym československým prasatám za volantom určite nepáčilo je, ze v Japonsku sa nepredbieha (takmer vsade je plná prípadne dvojitá čiara). Bohuzial sa zdá, ze tu ale nepoznajú pojem hlavná cesta. Vsetky cesty sú v podstate rovnocenné a neuveriteľný počet svetelných krizovatiek ...

... They were very friendly. They even allowed us to take pictures with them. While at the festival, I saw a Noe play for the first time. The actors made very slow and deliberate movements while a haunting music played in the background. It was quite Fascinating. Wish I understand what they were saying. Chuzenji Lake We drove up a mountain, which took about 46 turns ...