Trip to Nikko

On Sunday (July 29), I met up with my uncle and his family at Musashi-Urawa station. From there, we drove to Nikko to meet my grandmother. Nikko is located in the western part of the Tochigi Prefecture.

First we went to see Kegon Falls, one of Japan's three highest waterfalls, measuring almost 100 meters. Unfortunately, it is also infamous for suicides.

From left: Me, my grandmother, my aunt Noriko, twins Hayato (back) and Mayu (front)

Next we took a boat ride around Lake Chuzenji.

The port from where we took the boat

Note: I don't know this boy. I simply framed my picture
around him.

It seems a few of us were tired: My cousin Mayu and my uncle Shoji taking a short nap

My grandmother

Then we visited Yunodaira Marsh, a natural hot spring which provides most of the town's hot water. The sulfur from the hot water spring smells pretty much like rotten eggs so I didn't particularly enjoy the smell.

Natural hot spring

We took a short break to dip our feet into a little foot bath. We walked a lot during the day so it was nice to wet our feet in warm water.

My cousin Mayu and my grandmother

Finally, we checked into the hotel. In Japanese hotels, there is often a public bath for people to wash themselves and relax. There are showers in each room but almost everyone uses the public bath instead. Once you've been in one, you'll understand why.

After we showered, we were given yukatas to wear. A yukata is worn in summer and is the lighter and much simpler version of the kimono.

For supper, we ate kaiseki ryori, a traditional Japanese meal brought in courses. About 7 or 8 courses but each course only has a few items and in very small quantity so it doesn't feel like that much. In January, when I went to Kyoto, I ate osechi ryori which is also a traditional Japanese meal brought in courses but only served during the New Year's holidays. At that time, I tasted everything (my Mom always encourages us to at least try) but there were a lot of things that really were quite awful. This time however, I tasted everything and I enjoyed probably about 70-80% of the meal. There were only a few items that I really disliked. And there were even items I wanted to eat more of. So I view that as an accomplishment. : )

*   *   *

The next day, after a traditional Japanese breakfast, we set out to visit the Toshogu Shrine.

Famous carving of the three wise monkeys: Mizaru (sees no evil),
Kikazaru (hears no evil), Iwazaru (speaks no evil)

The architecture of Japanese temples and shrines is really incredible.

And that was it for our trip to Nikko. Had a lot of fun and enjoyed spending time with my relatives. Thank you Shoji, Noriko, Mayu and Hayato!