Kinugawa Royal Hotel Nikko

... as I'd never have found the place otherwise. Got settled in, and donning my yukata, headed for the bath. Ahhh, I could get used to this.<br><br>But, I was going to talk about Toilets. For those of you who have never experienced a Japanese toilet, think lots of buttons. There's a button to warm the seat. There's a button to spray a bit of water on your backside (and another button to turn ...

... 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;

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

... 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 left Tokyo on a train, headed North 2 hours to Nikko. We walked the 20 minutes to our hostel, which is in the woods near a river and walking trails. We were going to stay a 3rd night but the lodge was booked up so we decided to plan out the rest of our trip and only stay 2 nights there. <br><br>We have been buying breakfast foods from convience stores to save some money and we walked to the bus station for tourist ...

<br><br><br>10/07/2009 Edo Wonderland<br><br><br><br><br><br>Hoy nos habia dicho Norito que como nos ibamos a levantar tarde, no nos harian desayuno ("free day"). Nos acabamos levantando a las 11. Entre que pillamos algo de desayunar en el 7-Eleven, andamos a la estacion y llegamos a Nikko se nos hizo la una. <br><br><br>Nos fuimos directas a Edo Wanderland solo para medio dia, con el precio de la entrada reducido. El sitio no estaba mal. Habia varios teatrillos repartidos ...

... a string/tree within the temple grounds so it won't come true. Buddhism (in Japan at least) seems to be a religion of novelty as much as it is of faith. Temples all sell a huge selection of good luck charms to keep you safe from all sorts of life dilemmas. Religion in Japan is big business. By this time, I was pretty tired, but I decided to make the trip to the walk along the river anyway. I had been told that there was an area of "standing stones" and that if you ...

... of business cards, photographs, and bills from years of customers that have trampled through there. The owner spoke English, the food was great (we had gyoza, which are little fried dumplings, ramen, and some other sort of noodles), and the bill was pretty cheap. Then we headed towards the temple area. Along the way there is a famous bridge (Shinkyu Bridge) that is pretty neat. We got nice shots of the mist rolling off the mountains behind it. We wandered ...