Business Hotel Nishikiryu

... bullet train). We reserved JR passes, before the trip, which allowed us access to the Shinkansen and any other JR line trains including the Yamanote subway line in Tokyo. All we had to do was flash our JR passes to the station attendant near the turnstiles and we were through. The train we went on was one of the larger trains. It was a double decker train. The interior of the train was pretty nice. It was very spacious and ...

... me 2-3 hours and so I was able to catch a train at 3:30. Arrived at Matsumoto around 7:30. Realized that the ryokan was going to be a bit far to pull a suitcase, I thought I'd catch a bus (as the website recommended, "just a short ride on Bus #2". Hmm. There is no "Bus #2". There was a "Bay #2" and the next bus was 50 minutes away. I'm sweaty and tired. Screw it, I'm taking a cab. Good ...

... sprich gestern, das Wasser ausgelassen... was man ja eigentlich nicht tut, weil man sich ja eh vorher waescht bevor man reinsteigt... naja, dazu sind wir ja hier, um dazu zu lernen und nicht, um schon alles angeberisch zu wissen. Pft XD

So ca. in ner halben Stunde machen wir uns mit Freude auf zum Bahnhof, wo`s dann zurueck nach Utsunomiya geht, wo wir dann hoffentlich moeglichst problemslos einen Shinkansen Richtung Aomori bzw ...

... and scallop), beef, tempura and some unknowns that tasted great. Washed down with a big, cold Asahi beer!

Then, bath time. Wow. First time in a Japanese bath. Private, not a sento, but hot enough to peel paint and just the thing for sore muscles. The whole Japanese process where you shower/rinse first, then get in the tub to soak.

... Nachbarschaftsfestival, gleich um die Ecke von unsrem Hostel in Tokyo. War echt witzig, Japaner LIEBEN karaoke. Ich hab Beweismaterial XD

Gestern hats auch zum ersten Mal geregnet, seit dem wir hier sind. Hat uns also unsere eigenartige Aufbruchsstimmung noch verstaerkt. Aber heute ists wieder so sonnig und warm wie eh und je. Optimale Voraussetzungen fuer ne Wandertour, ne XD

Also, uns gehts nach wie vor super gut, abgesehen von etwas ...

... hiked up the hill toward the temple and just enjoyed the scenery. The moist environment mixed with the pine tree forest makes for some really beautiful areas around Nikko. Different varieties of moss coat the forest floor and grow up and around the trees. If you have ever seen the forest scenes from "Princess Mononoke" it sort of reminded me of that.

The temple was interesting and quite large. I looked around it for the better ...

... was its roar. The main hall of Toshogu was boring and I skipped the Sleeping Cat carving and Ieyasu's tomb, because I had to buy an extra ticket for them. The last important place to visit was Taiyuin temple, which is Iemitsu's tomb. It was simpler and more peaceful than Toshogu and I liked it.

The ticket for 2 shrines and 1 temple cost only 1000 yen and I think the price is ...

... They were very helpful and we got public bus tickets, expensive $20 (like everything else here) and rode out a half hour up a windy mountain road to Chuzen-ji Lake. From the bus stop we walked 300 meters to Kegon Falls, pretty nice as far as falls goes, similiar but not as nice as Akaka Falls, Hawaii... I'm just saying. Then we walked to the lake and was a little bummed out by the hiking trail options and it started to ...

... pesas de piedra.


Finalmente, vimos otro show donde la geisha manipulaba pequenos chorros de agua con las manos y con su abanico. Yo creo que habia botones en el suelo para controlar los chorros. Imagino que para los crios el show estaria bien.


Habia tambien un templo que parecia de plastico, para que los estudiantes pudieran rezar para obtener buenas notas y un canalillo con carpas.


Para regresar al hostal tuvimos que coger un autobus ...

... are fascinating, their sense of fashion is unique. When it all became too much I always found a Zen garden to regain serenity. I stayed with our friend Jon and we went to a karaoke bar. It was extremely good fun. One night I got lost completely lost walked for hours and couldn't found his flat. I must admit it rarely happens, but that night I had a mental block, lost my bearings and it was frustrating. I went to Mount Fuji but was very surprised not to see the top and even more ...