Shimofujiya Nasushiobara

... hump in the top bar. Guess I know which arm to do more bicep curls on. My brother and I mistakenly brought another set of tickets (language barrier alert!) so we foolishly decided to subject ourselves to the Ninja Warrior torture again! I did just about the same the second time. My left arm failed me again on the ring maze! Overall it was a really fun experience. I guess you can say that I kind of survived a Japanese game show!

... a little air dryer for your backside). There's an internal fan that comes on to avoid any unpleasant odors. There's probably a button to cause wheels to appear so you can drive the thing down the street... Anyway, suffice it to say that the Japanese have advanced the technology of toilets.

Now, could somebody explain to them to adopt toilet paper with a little more heft than single ply?

... sprich gestern, das Wasser ausgelassen... was man ja eigentlich nicht tut, weil man sich ja eh vorher waescht bevor man reinsteigt... naja, dazu sind wir ja hier, um dazu zu lernen und nicht, um schon alles angeberisch zu wissen. Pft XD

So ca. in ner halben Stunde machen wir uns mit Freude auf zum Bahnhof, wo`s dann zurueck nach Utsunomiya geht, wo wir dann hoffentlich moeglichst problemslos einen Shinkansen Richtung Aomori bzw ...

... 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.

... Nachbarschaftsfestival, gleich um die Ecke von unsrem Hostel in Tokyo. War echt witzig, Japaner LIEBEN karaoke. Ich hab Beweismaterial XD

Gestern hats auch zum ersten Mal geregnet, seit dem wir hier sind. Hat uns also unsere eigenartige Aufbruchsstimmung noch verstaerkt. Aber heute ists wieder so sonnig und warm wie eh und je. Optimale Voraussetzungen fuer ne Wandertour, ne XD

Also, uns gehts nach wie vor super gut, abgesehen von etwas ...

... hiked up the hill toward the temple and just enjoyed the scenery. The moist environment mixed with the pine tree forest makes for some really beautiful areas around Nikko. Different varieties of moss coat the forest floor and grow up and around the trees. If you have ever seen the forest scenes from "Princess Mononoke" it sort of reminded me of that.

The temple was interesting and quite large. I looked around it for the better ...

... was its roar. The main hall of Toshogu was boring and I skipped the Sleeping Cat carving and Ieyasu's tomb, because I had to buy an extra ticket for them. The last important place to visit was Taiyuin temple, which is Iemitsu's tomb. It was simpler and more peaceful than Toshogu and I liked it.

The ticket for 2 shrines and 1 temple cost only 1000 yen and I think the price is ...

... 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.


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.


Habia tambien un templo que parecia de plastico, para que los estudiantes pudieran rezar para obtener buenas notas y un canalillo con carpas.


Para regresar al hostal tuvimos que coger un autobus ...

... que cruza el rio Daiya.
Nos despedimos y Nicola y yo subimos a ver el precinto de Toshogu, que ha sido declarado Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad. Por el camino nos paramos a comprar algo de beber en la maquina. Yo necesitaba cambio, asi que entre a la tienda de al lado. Una senora mayor me atendio y me pregunto como se decia 5.000 en ingles, porque el billete era por esta cantidad. A su vez, yo le pregunte como se decia en Japones. Le costo un poquito, pero al ...