Hotel Kosho Nikko

... 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 ...

... Dort sollten wir einen Anschlusszug nach Aomori erwischen und wenn alles nach Plan verlaeuft (haha. der war gut) dann kommen wir vor Einbruch der Dunkelheit da oben an. Hui, da sind wir mal gespannt. Es kann nur besser sein als Nikko XD<br><br>Im naechsten Hostel soll`s angeblich wieder Internet geben, also duerfte mein naechster Eintrag nicht lange auf sich warten lassen XD<br><br>Bis bald also... &#12376;&#12419;&#12354;&#12414;&#12383 ;&#12290;

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

... an Schlaf meinerseits... hab eine etwas schlaflose Nacht hinter mir. Gleich zu unsrem Fenster raus ist ein riesen Fluss, der ordentlich laermen kann, wenn man nachts versucht, ne ruhige Minute zu finden. Aber hee, schlafen kann ich auch noch im Flugzeug XD<br><br>So. Ich sag mal, bis bald! Internet hat sich bis jetzt immer relativ einfach finden lassen. Hier in Nikko im Informationscenter, in Tokyo wars ja quasi im Hostel inkludiert.<br><br>Jaa mata.<br>

... of the countryside and areas you may miss if you had travelled by air. It may just be me, but one really interesting thing about visiting other countries is just seeing where people live, namely their houses or dwelling places. When you ride the train you get to see stuff like that. <br><br>Nikko was a really beautiful town and the temperature was quite a bit cooler which was a welcome change from the humidity in Tokyo. The train ...

... However, I was disappointed to see the monks in the temple or shrines who were eager to sell something mysterious like lucky charms, lucky arrows, and beadrolls. I didn't go shopping there. I thought the monk was more sacred profession. Especially, Nikko is the most dignified cluster of shrines and temples of Japan. Honestly, I had a bad impression from the merchant-like monks.<br><br>

... we got a combined ticket for 1000Y otherwise most temples would have cost 1300Y each. The area has been designated a World Heritage Site. The most important and famous is the Toshogu Shrine, inside the gate is a horse stable with the three wise monkeys carved, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. All the temples were very nice and not very crowded and they were surrounded by moss covered stone walls and fences.

... pesas de piedra. <br><br><br>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. <br><br><br>Habia tambien un templo que parecia de plastico, para que los estudiantes pudieran rezar para obtener buenas notas y un canalillo con carpas. <br><br><br>Para regresar al hostal tuvimos que coger un autobus ...

... my lungs were going to burst, then realised I was definitely going to die on the way down (turns out I didn't), called it a day. I made the hourly train by about 45 seconds, which made me think I was a train genius again, stocked up on sticky rice things on the stopover station (sorry to you guys who I've sent those to, they're probably rank ones) and on to my naff hotel. .. Which is where I am now. I can't quite believe I sacked off a last opportunity to large ...

... Tokyo...Nick and I were in bed by 7 AM. We slept in til 11 AM and then got ready to grab the trains to Nikko. I had to bring all my luggage with me and I would be leaving for straight for Nagoya to spend the second week with my friend Yves. We were tired but we managed to make all our trains. I happened to have my first experience on a *shinkansen* (bullet train) that day. I bought a Japan Rail pass and bullet trains are unlimited on those. Man, are they impressive ...