Wrap Up

So...obviously I am no longer in Japan anymore--and I really miss it. My last few weeks in Japan were absolutely insane, and the weeks...months following have been very difficult, personally. I do, however, feel that it is my job to wrap up my story.

So, Nikko.

My good friend Lora and I decided that we would miss out on the much-talked-about tokyo baseball game to go and visit Nikko, Japan. Everyone we knew who had gone to Nikko told us that it was amazing. To get to Nikko one needs to take a special Keio train from Asakusa. We both met there very early in the morning (around 8 am I think). We purchased our tickets, which covered our train tickets and local bus use (All Nikko Pass). It turned out to be a really great value!
I can't remember how long the trip to Nikko took because, naturally, I slept the entire way. When i woke up about 15 minutes from the Keio station in Nikko the first thing I noticed was the richly green landscape. Nikko is one of the greenest places I have ever seen in my entire life!
The Keio Nikko Station is located at the center of town--which is very cute and almost European-Ski-Resort looking. The first thing that we did was get food at a very cute family restaurant, naturally I got Stir Fried Veggies!
We decided to take a cab to our Hostel, because when we asked the ladies at the restaurant for directions, they were all lost for words! The Hostel was, as it turns out, very close to the station--but an uphill climb!
The Hostel was called the Nikko Park Lodge, a charming guesthouse located in the middle of a tree reserve area. It was very quiet and cosy inside, and the owner seemed very nice. He asked us if we wanted to have a 'Zen' Dinner (100% VEGAN!)--but the meal seemed pricey so we declined. We did order French toast breakfasts for the next morning. After dropping our bags off in the yoga room (yes, this place offered morning yoga sessions!) we walked back to the downtown (through a lovely rural neighborhood and across a footbridge spanning a river) and jumped on a bus to go and see the famous Nikko shrines!
The Shrines are certainly what Nikko is known for. They are rumored to be the most elaborate of all of the shrines in Japan--and I believe it. Conveniently all of the shrines are located very closely together and tickets can be purchased together at a ticket kiosk in front of Rinnoji Temple which houses 3 massively elaborate statues of three mountain kami (Shinto Spirits). The other temples that have to be seen in Nikko are the Taiyuinbyo, Futarasan Shrine and, the greatest of all: The Toshogu. The Toshogu is the Mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Founder of the Tokogawa Shogunate. His Mausoleum was designed to be the most elaborate resting place in all of Japan--and I believe it! The interiors and exteriors of the buildings are dripping in expensive lacquer work and real gold! Less impressive is the famous Monkey Shrine that depicts the "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" monkey carving--it was absolutely tiny!
My Favourite shrine was definitely the Taiyuinbyo, or Iemitsu's Mausoleum. Iemitsu was the grandson of Ieyasu, and he didn't want his mausoleum to outshine his grandfather's. Though his resting place is not nearly as elaborate, it is in a breath-taking location and is gorgeous in it's simplicity. It is located on the top of a very tall hill and is completely silent. The familiar sound of cicadas and birds falls away as you climb up to the shrine--and you an enveloped in a blanket of absolute quiet. The shrine next to the Mausoleum is small but lovely. The Mausoleum itself is so tiny you wouldn't notice it at all if you didn't know what it was. The Shrines of Nikko are all amazing, and seeing them all is a bit exhausting. After we were finished, Lora and I decided to go back to the Hostel.
After unpacking and changing clothes, Lora and I decided to go an try a public bath. It was only a short 15 minute walk to the nearest one. Public Baths are a bit unusual, especially if there are already naked women bathing there! All of the ladies were much older than us, and were laughing and gossiping as they scrubbed as if it was the most natural thing in the world! So Lora and I stripped down, sat down in front of a spigot and washed. Here is how to visit a public bath:

1. Buy a ticket outside of the Bathhouse. Usually there isn't a physical person there you need to pay, but it is good form to buy a ticket anyway in case someone sees you.
   
2. Go inside of the Bathhouse and pick a laundry basket to put your clothes into. Before entering the bath make sure you are undressed--completely.
3. The showering areas are really just faucets with hand0held shower head attachments that are located along the wall. Some public baths have private showers and bath rooms, but more traditional ones are completely open.
   
4. Sit on TOP of the bucket, and use the cup to help rinse yourself off. USE SOAP, you are supposed to be clean when you enter the bath!
5. After rinsing yourself off completely, take a dip in the bath! Careful--it is HOT!

The Bath itself was just what the doctor ordered--completely relaxing and pretty fun as well! After our baths we walked back to the Hostel, and it was just getting a little bit misty--perfection.

When we got back to the Hostel, we decided that we were a little too tired to go back into town to get dinner, but when we asked if we could still get dinner at the Hostel our kind Host got a little bit angry with us (he started yelling at us, saying he asked us before and now it was too late!). A bit affronted, we decided to go back into town to find something after all. Word to the wise--businesses in Nikko close EARLY! It was literally 7:00 pm on a Saturday night and every business and restaurant near the station was CLOSED! After walking around for a bit, we finally found a ramen house where I got some fried rice. Full and happy, we walked across the street to Sunkus to pick up supplies for the next day, went back to the Hostel and fell asleep. A Lovely day.

To Be Continued