Silver week

So it is the beginning of the second day after I returned from my silver week vacation. From Monday until Wednesday night, I was with my head teacher, his friend and one other in the Tochigi prefecture enjoying what the Japanese countryside had to offer. It was a good crew for the trip. I get along with my head teacher and it turned out that his friend and the other gentlemen were really good company. The people that are with you make a really big difference.

On Monday, we set out and ended up in Nikko to go see the Toshogu Shrine. Traffic wasn't too bad until we got to Nikko (everyone had a similar idea to us) and we got there at around 1 or 2ish I think. Since the roads were small and traffic was really heavy on the road to Toshogu, we parked a few Kilometers away and walked up the local streets to our location. It was a nice walk actually as that area was really pretty and there was plenty for my eyes to enjoy on the walk. Check facebook for pics. We also stopped for lunch at a Mom and Pap Korean restaurant on the way. It was a really cute place with maybe five or six tables and walls decorated with notes and pics from foreigners that have visited in the past. The owners were really sweet and talked to us while we ate and shared stories of popular customers or awards they have gotten. Definitely a good way to start off the Nikko experience . . . full of tasty Korean style food.

The Shrine was Magnificent. From the location amidst a national park to the careful detail of the artwork on every building, there was nothing about the place that was unimpressive. Leyasu was definitely an important guy because the effort that went into putting Toshogu together is clearly more apparent than other shrines I have seen here thus far. Unfortunately I was a bit sick that day and didn't get the full experience I could have, but I will still not easily forget how impressed with that place I was.

From there we got to our hotel that was basically a really big house run by an old married couple that have been there for 25 years. I was really impressed with the service we were met with, as were my companions. They made breakfast and dinner for us the two days we stayed and the meals were multi-course meal feasts. I am still hitting myself for not taking pictures of em. Probably had to do with the fact that I was dog tired by the time we sat down for dinner everyday. Also, Our room was a Six Tatami mat sized room, so sleeping was a snug experience and we spent very little time in our room. That was fine, since the living room was stocked with manga and board games that kept us occupied for hours on our second night. ^_^ A wonderful hotel.

On day two, we got up bright and early in order to catch the first Gandola to get to the 2000 Meter station of Mt. Shirane (Shirane san). It was a cloudy cool day that was perfect for a day of hiking . . . Not to mention that the leaves were turning already and the beauty started even before we started. We got to the station with no issue and got to the top of the mountain in about 2 hours. Freakin gorgeous and I have already posted good pics. Check em. From the top, we took a different path to a little pond and had lunch and then took a new path to the Gandola station and got down there even quicker. At the station, they had a foot hot spring where you could kick off your shoes and soak your feet as you enjoyed a 2000 foot view of the area. We of course took advantage of it and headed back to the hotel a little while after. We were on the mountain for around five hours, and it was a great time. I realize that I love to hike and plan to do more of it here.

After we got to the hotel and washed up, I took a long as nap to kick my cold and then played ultimate Frisbee with my crew for a bit. From there, we hit my first onsen that was about 5 minutes away. Those things are REALLY hot. It was a natural spring and I only lasted in there for about 10 minutes tops. I was totally cooked to. My body wasn’t used to that much heat for that long hehe. A good experience though. I’ll definitely be frequenting onsens in the future!

On Wednesday we checked out and headed to Kogen falls and Edomura. The falls were on the way and really pretty. Nothin much else to say about them though. As for Edomura, it is a historical theme park that is based on the Japanese way of life during the Edo period. Basically all the staff/cast dress in edo clothing and play a role all day while there are shops, shows and small attractions for guests to enjoy. Furthermore, they offer (even encourage) costume rentals from ninja to nobility of the time that my companions and I took advantage of the oppertunity. I choose to be a ninja and the other two were Samurai. I felt a little silly and of course got a lot of looks from being the white blue-eyed ninja but it wasn't a big deal. After we got dressed up and took some pictures, we caught the shows, threw Ninja stars, shot arrows and enjoyed the feel of the Edo period. If you come to Japan, you definitely want to check out Edomura. Be sure to rent the ninja outfit also, as it is really comfortable =P

Getting home was quick and painless and a good cap to a really nice getaway. I am sad it is over, but not sad to be back. It is counseling week at work and the rest of the week will be fairly low key. I like how it feels. It is a good transition from having so much time off. Whew, well I am off to work and have yet to plan out my weekend. We shall see what goes down.