Nasu Palace Hotel Nasushiobara

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Am naechsten Tag haben wir einen Ausflug zum Chuzenji-Onsen/-See, Kengon Wasserfall und Mt. Nantai (ruhender Vulkan) gemacht. Wir hatten glueck mit dem Wetter und konnten eine schoene Wanderung unternehmen. Zurueck ging es wieder mit dem Bus.

Weiter geht die Reise nach Kamakura (am Meer) nicht weit von Tokyo. Viele Japaner die in Tokyo arbeiten haben hier ihr Wochend-Haus. Doch dazu spaeter mehr...

Gruss Barbara und Ulf

... There was a ticker at the front and back of the car which told you what the next station was (in both Japanese and English). The audible announcement was also in Japanese and English. One of the things I appreciated was whenever the conductor or food cart person enters or leaves the car, they would bow. We packed sandwiches and drinks which came in handy for the pleasant train ride. The ride took us less than two hours. We ...

... 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 ...

... gestern aufgemacht, einen der ach so beruehmten Tempel und Schreine Nikkos zu besuchen. War ja auch sehr schoen... aber sonst gibt`s kaum etwas, dass junge Leute wie unser eins sehr ins Staunen versetzen koennte... (mal abgesehen von der schoenen Natur... wenn wir halt nur mehr Freude am Wandern haetten... ;)

Unser Jugendhostel war eher... naja. Ich wuerde sagen, das beste daran war das Japanische Bad. Das ist schon was feines, so eine ...

... 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.

... Dorf (95 000 EW) an.
Unser Youth Hostel war nicht allzu schwer zu finden, ist aber im Vergleich zum Khaosan in Tokyo, ein RICHTIGES Youthhostel, wie mans sich schon eher vorstellt... ein bisl abge****t halt XD aber die Hosts sind echt nett, ein altes Ehepaar. Und wir haben seit gestern abend schon mehr Japanisch gesprochen als die letzten 10 Tage in Tokyo ;D

Heute gehts mal auf Tempeljagt. Hier solls echt schoene Exemplare geben. Also ist fuer ...

... 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.

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 ...

... 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 ...

... 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 ...

... trenes y andar veinte minutos. Casi nada. No se porque nos cansamos tanto.


Para cenar, compramos comida en el 7-Eleven: yo comi un burrito y un pastel de arroz y de postre un pastel de nata (como un milhojas).


A eso de las 9pm llegaron unos 25 ninos de Tokyo con sus monitores para hospedarse en el hostal, para entrenarse en Kendo.


Norito se ofrecio a imprimirnos el horario de trenes del Shinkansen entre Tokyo y Fukuoka para manana.