Nikko Park Lodge

Nick had told me prior to my leaving Brazil that we would be spending a weekend in Nikko. Nikko is one of Japan's most popular tourist destinations because of the history and beautiful shrines/temples there. There are two mausoleums there. They house the first and third Tokugawa shogun Ieyasu respectively Nikko is up in the mounatains and known for having a blend of shinto and buddhist religions. MANY ornate buildings and some beautiful scenery. So, after our all nighter in Tokyo...Nick and I...

After a slightly strange night's sleep due to jet lag, we woke up bright and early, 6:30 and headed into Tokyo main station to get our Japan Rail passes. You can only buy a Japan rail pass out of the country but they are well worth it. We got the longest one we could 21 days, so it would cover us back to Tokyo at the end of our stay in Japan. The Rail Passes enable you to use any Japan Rail line which is most of them (not including metros though). Every time you see a foreigner in Japan, they...

So after a first whirlwind two days in Tokyo, with some sleep thrown in for good measure, we were going to catch our first Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to the small sleepy town of Nikko. The journey should take us around 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete, covering a distance of about 100 miles or so. Our destination; a quaint lodge in the mountains run by Zen Buddist Monks, called the Nikko Park Lodge. Our first impressions as we stepped off the train was wow. We had no idea that Nikko was tucke...

Staying in a great hostel. Park Lodge hostel in Nikko. I highly recommend it. Spent today at the Shrines.. walking around and then 2 hours of kareoke.. (I'm so happy Helena seems to be enjoying it as well;)). and tomorrow Edomura.. so that'll be good. I do love the ninja shows. Hopefully I'll be able to upload some photos soon.

We are staying in the most amazing hostel. Nikko Park Lodge. This place is just stunning. It's in beautiful surroundings, and the staff are so friendly. I'm going to be sad to leave this place. It doesn't feel like a hostel, it feels like a home with a family to come home to. I asked Ken (the owner) the best way to get to Edomura, he pointed out the free bus to me.. and then said "Actually, I have to go to their office.. I'll take you." About half way there we realised that it was actually sh...

Nikko

WWOOFing is an accronym for World Wide Opportunities in Organic Farming (although opportunities are not limited to farming). Basically it's a volunteer program for people to work abroad, and in exchange, their host will provide food, lodging, and hopefully, some cultural experiences. Aaron and I WWOOFed at two different places, and had two very different experiences. WWOOFing at Numajiri Lodge This was a dream come true. It was an experience that we hoped for, but it was better than we could ...

We woke at 4:30, packed our bags, were mutually raped by the 'marksman' like water jet toilets and limped towards Asakusa Tobu Station. After sitting on the platform for 15 minutes and collecting curious stares from equally curious and bemasked commuters (everyone looks like a surgeon playing truant), we realised that the previously irrelavant destination marked upon the carriages in front of us differed from those of three carriages down. Quickly shaking off our blonde moment, we realised th...

Japan, it turns out, is hard work. The 'Japanese tourist' starts at home it would appear. The place is really not set up for backpackers or other foreign travellers, nor does it receive many, the main tourism industry in Japan is from the Japanese themselves. While that's great in many ways, giving a truly authentic experience, it makes things a bit tricky when trying to do stuff such as book a hostel that doesn't cost the same as a 4* hotel and is within a 100 mile radius of where you actual...