hey all,
So I will risk being prosecuted by the Japanese government and reproduce one of their ads: Nikko is Nippon! Nippon is one of the Japanese names for Japan, and Nikko is where Michi and I went this weekend.
Previously, I've written about my first trip to Nikko. I researched that, planned it, and went there by myself. This time, Michi basically planned the whole thing, for which I'm really grateful. We got a great deal on our hotel (actually a ryokan (travel lodge with hot springs) with a 1200 year history), train tickets and bus fare thanks to her.
We met up without a hitch this time, arrived in Nikko at a little before 10AM, got our bus passes (which let us ride as much as we wanted for two days), and were told that our original plans were impossible by the travel staff. The problem was that it is winter, and Nikko actually gets snow, so many of the hiking trails were icy and dangerous. Not to be stopped, we decided to hike around central Nikko before heading over to our hotel. We hiked up to a waterfall I hadn't seen on the first trip, and revisited the something-something Abyss.
Getting to our hotel was quite the bus ride. The scenery of Nikko is spectacular. The bus drove past Lake Chuzenji, and then wound back and forth through an incredible gut-churning, awe-inspiring, switchback trail before leveling out.
The hotel itself was excellent. The hot spring water has a smell that is unfortunately similar to rotten eggs, probably thanks to the sulfur it gets from its volcanic heat source, but sitting outside with snow all around you while you're warm and comfortable is...nice, to be understated. Dinner was good, but it featured some deep-fried small fish that you are supposed to eat whole, plus a baked fish complete with head and tail still attached.
We got a slightly late start the next morning, as I hadn't slept well the night before (Michi wanted the heater on, but even on the lowest setting, it felt sweltering to me), and Michi thought maybe I wanted to start slowly. We had decided to walk to a nearby waterfall (Yutaki), which was incredible, and from there we took a bus to another waterfall (Ryuzu), and finally yet another bus ride to our final waterfall: Kegon Waterfall.
In between and during our bus rides and sightseeing, we got to talk, tell each other stories, and laugh a lot. It seems that we have recently jumped to some new level, without taking the proverbial look before we leapt.
Pictures coming soon.
Cheers,
