Sunday 8th was spent in the region of Nikko. We caught the Bullet train from Ueno station which took a couple of hours to make it up into the mountains. We passed many paddy fields and towns. When we got to Nikko the temperature was considerably colder than in the city. I had to put my jumper on. Nikko is a town at the entrance to Nikko National Park, most famous for Toshogu, Japan’s most lavishly decorated shrine and the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu. This world heritage site had been a centre of Shinto and Buddhist mountain worship for many centuries before Toshogu was built in the 1600s. After a quick game of temple run it was off back down to see a Japanese garden and museum. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the intricate detail on all the buildings, however my feet did get a bit chilly having to take my shoes off all the time. The Shinkyo Bridge, sacred bridge, at the entrance to Nikko’s shrines and temples was out last stop before we went for dinner. It was a disappointment that we were not allowed to cross the bridge, but it is supposedly sacred.
Dinner was interesting, as we visited an Indian restaurant in japan. It didn’t feel very Indian at all; nevertheless I still went for a Japanese option. We suddenly thought we would miss our train so I downed my drink and we ran for it. Unfortunately, when we arrived there was no train, and there wouldn’t be for another 40 minutes or so. So we went for a drink. When we got back we went to the Hostel to get changed and head out for a night of Karaoke. There was a good rendition of Ice Ice Baby by Simon, which was clearly the highlight of that evenings songs.
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