Nasu Shiobara Station 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

... 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 ...

...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 ...

... 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.

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 ...

As the proverb goes, Don't say, "fine" until you visit Nikko." Was it so fine? That was the question bringing me to Nikko. Nikko is far from Tokyo and it takes more than 2 hours to get there. I took a long distance night bus from Nagoya, arriving at Tokyo at 6 in the morning and it was enogh to make it to the Tobu train from Asakusa at 7:10, arriving at Nikko 9:20 by rapid-transit train ...

... 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 ...

10/07/2009 Edo Wonderland





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.


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 ...