19112010 Nikko

Apparently the temperature must have dropped drastically overnight, or my warm room was too comfortable, so it felt like it was freezing when I stepped out into the hallway to head to the toilet to wash myself up in the morning. My host mother was already up and busying herself in the kitchen, while I packed and put my things away, including my bed.

Breakfast at my host family’s was a very hearty affair. My host mother had prepared lots of cut fruits, yoghurt, toast and also eggs anyway we liked it. Both of them passed around the coffee, tea, and also homemade jam which were delicious on the bread. They had a fruit tree growing in the garden, so the main ingredient of the jam came from there.

After breakfast and everything was cleared, got my coat and headed out with my host father, who was driving us to Nikko. My host mother couldn’t come along, as she had to attend the funeral service of her friend. Waved her goodbye and we set off on a roughly two hour long drive. It was a sunny day in Tokyo, and on the highway, we could actually see Mount Fuji!

My host father was a very quiet and gentle fellow, in contrast to my host mother who was very chirpy and outspoken on almost everything, and would poke fun at him from time to time. Maybe because my Japanese was better than it was more than a year ago, I found that I enjoyed talking to him a lot, compared to my first homestay experience, where I was so nervous and didn’t spoke much.

Soon we came to the highway exit for Nikko. However my host father had a surprise in store for me. Instead of heading to Nikko, we went up the hills to Chuzenji first. We stopped at the Akechidaira rest house for a break after all that winding road up to get some fresh air. What was even more surprising was that they had a ropeway!

It was colder up here, around 7 or 8 degree celcius. My host father bought us tickets for the ropeway, and we queued up for our turn. There wasn’t much people around as it was still fairly early.

The ride was a little scary, as it was a long way down, but we got a superb view of the Kegon Waterfall before us.

The ropeway stops at an observatory, where we could glimpse the Chuzenji lake and the waterfall from high above. They also had markers telling us the directions of mountains nearby, and also the Kanto Plateau.

Went back down the ropeway again, and our next stop was a little further up, to see the Ryuzu Waterfall. It was a much smaller one compared to the Kegon Waterfall, but still beautiful nevertheless.

My host father told me that they used to frequent Nikko back when he and my host mother were much younger with their friends. He then drove deeper into the mountains, to see if he could still remember some of the places they used to visit. However, it became much more deserted as we went on, so he decided to make a short stop at the Senjogahara Moor instead, which was part of the National Park.

Made a U-turn to head back to the town, and we made another stop by the river banks. There weren’t anyone around at all, so we took some time strolling along it. The river’s currents were rather strong, but it looked very pretty as the sunshine bounced off it, and the water was crystal clear.

Headed back to the Chuzenji town, and even the car park had a beautiful view of the mountain towering behind it.

Our next stop before lunch was the Kegon Waterfall. After getting the tickets, we were directed into a large building to take the elevator all the way down, around a 100m drop. Exiting the lift, we had to walk along a long, damp tunnel which led out to an observatory built near the foot of the waterfall.

No other words to describe this breathtaking scene, and everyone around us were exclaiming in disbelief at the beauty of the waterfall, which turns into a large river flowing beneath the observatory. It was near noon time now, so the crowd was larger, and it was difficult to get a shot without someone unintentionally walking past. Decided that we had spend enough time there, headed back up to get lunch.

Lunch was the famous Nikko’s Yuba made from soy bean, or tofu skin as we call it back here. It was delicious and went well with the steaming hot soba. The soup wasn’t too thick either, but just nice. Having hot noodles on a cold autumn day is just blissful.

Our Chuzenji tour ended after lunch, and we drove down the hill to get to Nikko, only to find a few monkeys hogging the road while enjoying themselves, much to our amusement.

While the maple leaves were almost all gone at Chuzenji, Nikko still had them, and their numbers grew as we came nearer and nearer to our destination.

Our first stop was the Shoyoen Garden said to be designed like the Biwa lake far away in the old Omi province of Japan. The garden grounds were quiet and peaceful, as we strolled around, enjoying the red and gold maple leaves over our heads. There was also a small tea house meant for the tea ceremony, neatly tucked away at the side of the pond.

The garden also had a small exhibition hall located right next to it, and it housed the potraits of all the past Tokugawa Shogun rulers up till before the Meiji Revolution. They also had scrolls from the Edo period, but even my host father couldn’t understand them. ‘Old Japanese’ he said laughing.

Adjacent to the garden was the Rinnoji temple. There was a long queue to get in, so we skipped that and only gave our prayers to the gods from outside before moving on.

From there, it was a little hike up the slops to get to the Toshogu. We came to the Shinkyu, which was said to be a stable for the scared horses, but the three wise monkeys proved to be much more popular than them.

Stopped by at the Yakushido where we had to line up to get in. After two sessions, it was our turn, and there was a monk standing right in the middle of the hall, under a painting of a large dragon. He then explained that there were bells built into the mouth of the dragons, so whenever he struck the wooden block in his hand, we could hear a ringing sound. Very fascinating and rather impressive, until he started peddling the goods sold in the temple which we could buy.

Continued on our way to the burial place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa period in Japan. Passed by the arch where everyone was stopping to catch a glimpse of the nemuri neko (sleeping cat)

The stone steps to Ieyasu’s tomb was a painful reminder of how unfit I am. My host father had to keep stopping to make sure I kept up pace with him. It was a hilly climb, but eventually we reached the place where Tokugawa Ieyasu was said laid to rest. His tomb was squarish, and there were pathways built around it, so we could encircle around it. Felt like an accomplishment for me, to be able to come this close to one of the famous figure during the Sengoku period.

Coming down from Toshogu, we visited Taiyuin which was undergoing a large restoration work, and no pictures were allowed. However we were able to enter its main hall where a monk explained is history, and also pointed out that the shogun place was under a huge light which hung from the ceiling. So happened, I was sitting right under it, so I was the shogun for that brief 10 minutes of my life.

As we went further down the hill, we came to a few shrines and temple which were said to be for relationships. Fair enough, there were a few wedding taking place at the same time, and lots of couples hanging around.

Concluded our trip of Nikko with one last look at the temples and red maple leaves, trying to remember as much as I could of them. It was already around six in the evening when we left. My host father made a quick stop before leaving the town to buy some yuba which my host mother requested.

Fell asleep for most of the ride back, and there was a slight traffic jam leading into Tokyo. My host mother was waiting for us when we got home, and dinner tonight was hotpot with some of the yuba my host father bought at Nikko.