Shane On The Go: Nikko

Showing posts with label Nikko. Show all posts

Sunday, 10 March 2013

On the road to Takaragawa Onsen

One happy traveller

On Google maps it looked like there were two ways to get to Takaragawa Onsen from Nikko. A shorter northern route over the mountains and a longer southern route that looped around west then north to Takaragawa. Some roads across the mountains are closed in winter. We knew this from the last time we visited Japan. There were two roads into Shirahone Onsen, only one was open to traffic in the Winter. I had a sneaky suspicion that would be the case here so we decided to go to the visitors information centre in Nikko and ask. I think the guy there said he didn't know about the northern route or it was closed. His English wasn't great and my Japanese is non-existent. Either way he did indicate that I should take the longer southern route.

Supply stop

We were kind of disappointed we couldn't take the mountain route but it was better to be safe than sorry. We would be spending plenty of time in the mountains anyway. Or we hoped so. We'd also be leaving Tochigi Prefecture and going to Gunma Prefecture.

Most of the way was freeway/tollway/expressway again until we turned off for Minakami. Then we hit snow, real snow, for the first time. It wasn't snowing but there were still huge drifts each side of the road and covering trees and houses. Finally we were back in the snowy countryside of our last trip to Japan. I know if you're from a climate where you get big snow drifts an blizzards every Winter it can be mundane or a pain in the arse but for us from sunny Australia, where we rarely see snow like this, it is a Winter wonderland.

Come on Michelle, don't be shy

That's better. Starbucks iced latte found in all good convenience store fridges

The town of Minakami is in a long narrow valley that stretches for miles. It is on the train line so even though it feels isolated it is reachable from civilisation. We stopped at a Yamazaki, Bread & Food, to pick up supplies. Isolated Ryokans can be limited in the junk food they carry, if any, so we wanted to stock up on chocolate and snacks and yoghurt and bananas for Georgia. We've been looking for gloves for Georgia too. We tried in Australia and it was too soon. By the time we got to Tokyo it was too late. We're hoping, in a ski resort (Minakami is a ski resort), we might be able to finally find gloves in small child sizes. Now that there is so much snow on the ground gloves will be essential.

After passing though Minakami we're directed off the main road up a slight incline and winds into the hills. The road we're following has a concrete centre line with what appears to be brass or metal plugs. I can only assume they stick lane dividers into the holes which are every few metres? God know why though, because the road is fairly narrow. After a few bends another another steep valley opens up but there is more of a flood plain.The river appears wider at this point but it is hard to tell where fields begin and the river ends because it is all covered with snow and ice. We drop down to valley floor and cross a bridge into the tiny snow drift covered hamlet of Fujiwara. We take a left at yet another valley fork and follow the river to Takaragawa Onsen. This valley is steeper and closer. It is almost more like a canyon. Takaragawa Onsen is the end of the road and seemed to be only a collection of a couple of hotels. I'm not sure if all the hotels are the one complex or not but our hotel is called Osenkaku Ryokan. The car park of our hotel is the end of the road as far as our GPS is concerned. It looks like one road in, one road out. The hotel is perched above and along the river, the Takaraga, that cuts through the valley.

Shinkyo Bridge - The Sacred Bridge, Nikko

The last thing we wanted to do in Nikko before hit the road is go and gawk at the Shinkyo Bridge (Sacred Bridge). The bridge is a heritage listed site and is part of Futarasan complex. It has been rebuilt many times over the centuries but it has retained the current design since 1636. Originally only messengers of the imperial court or royalty could use it. Legend has it that in 766 a priest and his followers were stopped by the fast flowing waters of the Daiya River. He prayed and the god Jinja-Daiou appeared who released two snakes which then formed a rainbow bridge.


Shinkyo

Mae comes everywhere

It's only a couple bucks (Y300) for an entrance ticket because when push comes to shove it is only a bridge and what can you do, cross it? Sort of. It is closed at one end. Probably keep off the freeloaders. We were wondering if they open the other end when a couple of monks, or priests, turned up to pray or invoke a blessing. Georgia was amused by they way they threw their hands in the air and clapped. The monks wandered off and I didn't think much more about it until one of the caretakers seemed to be indicating to us we should get off the bridge. I hadn't thought the ticket we bought had a time limit to it. Maybe, I thought, only a certain number of visitors were allowed on at the one time? Then I saw the wedding party.

The end of the bridge leads to the trail up to Futarasan

We were being moved out of the way so a wedding ceremony could take place on the bridge. The priest blessed the happy couple couple and their wedding party and then they all trooped on to the bridge. The bride and groom were both dressed in traditional wedding kimonos. I don't know if they're actually called kimonos when it comes to wedding garb, but we'll go with that. They shuffled slowly across the bridge while the priest prayed and gesticulated then they exited off the other end where they had more photos taken.

Love messages?

It was all pretty interesting to see and I guess it is something you don't see every day unless you live in Nikko and frequent Shinkyo Bridge. I doubt you'd see many Japanese wedding parties holding a ceremony on the Nowra bridge.

Monks doing monkly things before the happy couple turn up.

Georgia was sitting on a log watching as the wedding party went through the ceremonial duties before marching on to the bridge. A couple of women in the wedding party dropped out of the queue to squat down in front of Georgia to say hello. It was amusing to us that Georgia was distracting them from their ceremony. I know I've mentioned it before but Georgia attracts a lot of attention. Even buying entrance tickets to the bridge took longer than what would be a normal transaction because the ticket seller wanted to say hello to Georgy. We are flattered that our little girl attracts so much attention but it is sometimes embarrassing. She takes it all in her stride but it can be a little bewildering for her.

Hooray. Just like the monks.

Unfortunately we'd messed up our timing to get the most spectacular photos of the bridge. We should have come here the previous afternoon to get the setting sun lighting up the bridge. So we're stuck with the flat morning light. Still, it is quite a pretty bridge in any light, even if it isn't glowing a brilliant red with in the afternoon sun. If we had made it the previous afternoon we probably would have missed seeing the wedding. Sometimes one experience can trump another.

Wedding party.

Priest doing priestly things.

Georgia attracting attention from wedding party.

Time to hit the road.

Saturday, 9 March 2013

Yoro-No-Taki, Nikko

When we drove up the main street of Nikko we saw a sign advertising a bakery so we decided to walk up the street and look for it and also see what sort of restaurants were available. We didn't need anything fancy but more Yuba would be nice. Nothing immediately jumped out as "you must eat here" but there were a couple of bars that seemed to serve food. In the end we chose Yoro-No-Taki.

I would like... SUSHI!

Tuna. Yummy.

Fried Tofu.

Yoro-No-Taki is a pub / restaurant. I think it is part of a chain or franchise. We were seated and handed big glossy menus. One was even in English. It was all pictures anyway. Yoro-No-Taki seemed to have just about every Japanese cuisine covered from sushi to yakatori and everything in between including some western style dishes. So we decided on a bit of this and a bit of that. It was essential though to start with some sashimi for Georgia. And beer. Beer for me.

Pork

Hello little guy... Fried prawn.

Chicken Yakatori.

Like any casual dining places that serve everything it comes out with mixed results. Nothing horrible. Just standard fare with a couple of highlights. Very inexpensive. Dishes range from about Y200 up to maybe Y1000. We ended up getting a few dishes. Sashimi, fried prawns, bbq pork, chicken yakatori, fried tofu and two delicious desserts. Creme brulee ice cream. Exactly what it says. Creme brulee on ice cream. And mango ice cream.

Rice.

You're looking at me...

You're still looking at me...

Unfortunately the couple next to us were smokers and lit up between and during courses. That's the problem with some Japanese restaurants. Smoking is still legal. They were what we've found to be typically nice Japanese though. Always willing to try their limited English on us and chat to Georgia. As usual Georgia was too shy to respond. She just stares. It is quite funny really to see someone making faces or talking to Georgia and her just sitting there with a blank look on her face wondering who this strange person is. Georgia will generally say good bye and wave to anybody who has tried to talk to her though. She relaxes when we leave so she will smile, say bye-bye and wave.

Do you want dessert Georgia? Um...

Creme brulee ice cream.

Mango ice cream

If you're looking for something reasonably priced in down town Nikko you can't go wrong with Yoro-No-Taki. Cheap, good food, friendly service and good country ambience. Except for the smoking.

Yoro-no-taki

As we neared our hotel we noticed somebody still had their light on. I wonder what idiot had done that considering there are signs up saying turn off the lights when you leave. Ah... Oops.

Viva Hotel lit up like a light house. Oops.

Oh, and we never did find that bakery again.

World Heritage Area - Toshogu, Nikko

The World Heritage Area Toshugu is the main reason the hordes of tourist come to Nikko. We've only been here one night and hadn't seen many tourist but we certainly found them today. Toshugu is a complex of temples and shrines. Big temples and shrines nestled in hilly woodland. From the parking area it is up hill to the first of the temples. Each temple compound is made up of a number of shrines as well as the main temple. There are lots of steps. Lots. Next time I think we'll leave the stroller in the car.

We came down this path, the back way into Toshogu

For some reason this reminds of the movie UP.

5 story pagoda

The temples are hidden in the cedar forest. I can't tell a pine tree from a Douglas fir so I had to look that up. You can't see the temples for the trees until you right on top of them. Some of the trees are huge and dwarf multi storey pagodas. It must be an ancient forest.

Big scary dude. There's one either side of the gate.

Lions Georgia.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

Thank goodness Michelle does a bit of research before we turn up at these places. We can buy a ticket to each of the temples or one combination ticket to all of the temples - Toshogu, Futarasan and Rinno-ji . The combination is significantly cheaper - only Y1000. Single entry ranges from Y500 to Y1000.

Toshogu

Toshogu, or Tōshō-gū, is a national shrine in Japan and is dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu whose ashes are contained in an urn on the site. He was the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Toshogu was intially built in 1617, after Tokugawa's death in 1616.

Some of the ornate carvings. This one stretches, apparently, 200 metres.

Ice block. About a metre square.

Some dirty icy snow in the courtyard.

The shrines and other buildings are decorated ornately with carvings of dragons, elephants, peacocks and monkeys. The carving of three wise monkeys is quite famous but I photographed it because I like monkeys. Duh. One of the ways we kept Georgia amused was by pointing out the carvings of animals and dragons. She loves dragons thanks to Shrek. There's a huge lifelike statue of a cat in one of the shrines but it costs extra to go in so we didn't bother. We have to have some limits. We don't want to overload Georgia with too much.

Beer

Traditional style kegs of sake

More of the ornate carvings.

It was a beautiful sunny day. A little on the cool side but not uncomfortable. It was still cool enough that there was still a lot of icy snow piled up in shady areas. There was a rainwater collection tank next to one of the shrines it had a tank sized block of ice, about 3cm thick, floating on top. This tells me that in the depths of winter Nikko must be bloody cold.

Dragons Georgia.

Look Daddy, mummy, Drwagons!

Traditional style Japanese photo.

The ceiling of one of the shrines we did go into is covered with hundreds of dragons. When you enter a Shinto or Buddhist shrine you have to take off your shoes. We followed the other tourists and pilgrims inside for a gawk. Inside there was a hall (Yakushi-dō Hall) where dozens, maybe 150, tourists were on their knees crouched down praying and following the lead of the priest running the show. After a few claps the "service" was over and we're ushered out past the souvenir counter to one side of the hall so the next group of pilgrims could come in. There's always a souvenir stand. I can't recall going to a religious site anywhere in the world where a priest, monk or nun weren't flogging trinkets or blessings.

The whole flamin' family (inc. code name Nemo)

One of the golden warriors at Youmeimon gate.

The monks (or are they called priests in Shinto?) make sake and beer here too. What is it about religious orders making booze? Thank goodness they do though. That is one religious vocation I can get behind.

Tourist and pilgrim hordes.

Just taking a breather

Near to the Toshogu area, a few hundred metres away, are the Futarasan Shrine and the Rinno-ji Temple. We didn't go into any of the temples or shrines on either site but we wandered around and goggled at the amazing buildings. We also grabbed a feed from a vendor selling chicken kaarage and noodles. Cheap too. The chicken kaarage was only about 3 bucks and the noodles with a fried egg on top were about the same. We sat on the steps to Futarasan to eat.

Whenever we stop to take photos of Georgia we attract a crowd. Usually a few people will take out their phones or cameras and take a few snaps.

I'm usually left behind fighting with the stroller.

The top temple at Rinno-ji, as in the furtherest up the hill, was a step too far. We got to the stairs that disappeared up into the forest and thought, we're not carrying the pram up there. A group of older Japanese guys had just come down and were standing around having a smoke and they laughingly suggested we shouldn't bother with the pram. They showed us a few photos on their mobiles. We weren't missing much. Just more of the same. Beautifully located though.

We've seen this a few times in Japan. In this case the doggy is disabled.

Georgia looking at the doggy in the stoller

Dirty snow.


Big cedars. Big.

You need a a full day to give justice to these beautiful shrines and temples. All the steps can be tiring, so be prepared for a little climbing. Nikko's World Heritage area is definitely worth the diversion if you're into this kind of thing. I still have no idea where all the tourists go at night though. Maybe they eat at their hotels? Nikko is about 2 and half hours drive north of Tokyo. Even though the Shinkansen (bullet train) is faster than driving you have to change to a local JR line so the journey still takes about 2 hours, depending on your connection.