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Travel Blogs from Katashina-mura
Day 5: Lake Chuzen and Kegon Falls
... grandmas. Everyone was eager to board the elevators to get back up. Being so close to the water made it even colder. We eventually squeezed into an elevator but the old lady behind us wasn't as fortunate. The elevator attendant had to cut her off and send her back to the line. She seemed quite upset and did not want to head back to the line. Not sure what she was saying in Japanese but she was pouting and complaining. Finally, we saw an old man squeeze out of ...
Day 4: Nikko - Temples and Shrines
... French Japanese steakhouse called A Hill. Yes, this was the same place that we were suppose to go to on our first day after we landed. So we ended up missing the make up reservation. Kinda funny...i guess it's just not meant to be and we'll just have to wait till Kobe to satisfy our craving for Japanese red meat. We grabbed a couple of sandwiches for breakfast but couldn't wait for the train to arrive to eat them in the comfort of our reserved seats. Instead we ate them ...
The real Shogun
Travel for the day started early--our group meeting in the hotel lobby by 7:40 AM. A couple of train/subway connections and about 3 hours of travel found us at Japan's most famous shrine.
The 1975 James Clavell novel Shogun described Toranaga's rise to Shogunate. The place we visited today called Toshogu Shrine is the shrine dedicated to the real-life ...
Japan On Ice
... to date (it still didn't explain the Maid Cafes but I'm getting ahead of myself).
The other claim to fame of the temples is one shrine in particular- the "Three Monkeys" sculptures are famous throughout the world for the "see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil" poses. The carved monkeys covering their eyes, ears and mouth respectively, were inspired by the Buddhist teaching that if we do not hear, see or speak evil, we ...
Day trip to Nikko
... was significantly cooler and less humid than Tokyo, which was much appreciated given the hot stickiness of the last few days.
First I took the bus from Nikko station (which resembled a Swiss ski lodge) up to lake Chuzenji. The lake was stunning, set against the backdrop of beautiful mountains.
I took the opportunity to visit the Kegon waterfall. I took an elevator (which went straight down through the mountain) to the base of the waterfall where ...
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