Making the most of Nikko

Coming from a country where different train companies share train lines, it didn't occur to us that our connecting train from platform two of Kurihasi station was leaving from a different platform two than the one we were standing on. Eventually, when we noticed our destination wasn't showing on the screen hanging over our heads we got suspicious and went to investigate, leaving through turnstiles not knowing if we'd made a mistake. Luckily, we spotted a sign for another platform two, this one showing a train for Nikko that was leaving in just a few minutes, the next not for another couple of hours. It was only then we realised quite how rural this train station was, surrounded by fields, hardly any railway personnel, and just a single drinks vending machine... waiting for the next train would have been quite dull.

When we finally arrived at Nikko's train station, we loaded up google maps with our hotels address and selected the public transport option. There was no handy translations for the bus names, so we tried our best to memorise the kanji and match it up to the buses passing by. After a few false starts, we were directed to the spot where the tourist bus (the one we needed) departed from. The main town we passed by seemed vibrant with shops and restaurants, a blend of traditional and modern buildings lined the streets, and heaps of tourists milled around. The next area we passed seemed a lot more serene, with hotels hidden within the trees and signs pointing to the famous temples and complexes that draw people to the area. Next was a long stretch of road, sparsely lined with dilapidated and abandoned hotels and nothing else. This was our stop.

Our hotel was fine, a bit on the musty side and seemingly last decorated in the 70's, but fine. The welcome wasn't the warmest, we had arrived earlier than the check in time but that didn't really explain why they seemed confused to see us. After a bit of questioning, they allowed us to leave our luggage with them with while we went to explore, directing us to leave it in a room dedicated to old and broken furniture.

Ready for some lunch we walked back along the road for twenty minutes to reach the small high-street like area. The options weren't plentiful, but at lunchtime there were a few restaurants to chose from. Eventually we settled for a traditional restaurant, run by a doddering elderly man. The small dining space, crammed with tiny tables and just ten chairs, felt like it was more part of his home than a restaurant. Despite being shown the kanji covered menus, when we took too long to decide the old man came over and told us we were having cold soba and tempura before shuffling off to make it. We were hoping for hidden greatness, a master of his art hidden away in an unassuming building undiscovered by the masses. In reality, there was a reason why we were the only people in the place during what should have been the lunchtime rush - the food was just okay.

Hunger sated, sort of, we headed off to find the local abyss. We left behind streets of quaint white washed houses and came across a small fence with some worrying signs. "Attention! Be aware of leeches and bears in the area!" Although we were in no way prepared to encounter a bear, we decided that we'd take our chances and continue on with our walk. The Kanmangafuchi Abyss wasn't at all as dramatic as the name suggested, and instead of visiting an unfathomably deep chasm we instead enjoyed a gentle walk alongside a fairly shallow gorge, albeit filled with rushing waters. The woods bordering the gravel path provided much needed shade from the blazing sun, and the path itself was lined with statues of jizo - a buddhist figure that is said to protect women, children and travellers. After following along the river for thirty minutes we came across a rather dramatic bridge, one that thankfully rejoined the main road next to where we were staying, saving us from backtracking the way we'd come.

When we arrived back at our lodgings we were shown to our room, it was once again perfectly fine but in dire need of an update. It felt a bit like staying at an elderly relative's house, one that didn't particularly want us there - nothing was overtly wrong but it just didn't feel welcoming. We considered moving but in the end we had to just get on with it, all the other hotels within our price range were fully booked out and we couldn't justify splashing out when it just wasn't that bad. That evening, after making the trek back to the high street we discovered yet another reason why we hadn't made the best choice in hotels - all of the restaurants in the area had shut at five, all except that local Indian... which thankfully turned out to be pretty good.

After enjoying a breakfast of snacks from the konbini the following morning, we made our way up the hill to Nikko's main attractions: its shrines. In the area we visited, there were three major shrines, but we chose to focus on just one: Nikko Toshogu. Built in 1636, this shrine serves as a lavish memorial to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. As we strolled along a tree-lined avenue towards the shrines entrance, we first glimpsed its bold red and gold, five-story pagoda peeking through the trees, standing in contrast to the greenery around it. Just outside the shrine's entrance was a ticket booth, where we queued up and paid ¥2400 each before entering.

Every part of the temple complex was ornately decorated with intricate carvings mixed with gold leaf, a striking contrast to the understated simplicity typically favored in shrine architecture. In my opinion, the shrine's appearance had sprinted past tasteful landing somewhere near garish. Parts of it in isolation were certainly beautiful, but together it was a bit much. Each building, from store house to temple was almost overly decorated, each competing for attention. It was overwhelming to say the least. I particularly enjoyed some of the artistic liberties taken in the designs, like the carvings of elephants clearly done by someone who'd never seen one.

There were two main buildings we could enter and the insides no less ornate than their exteriors, although it was slightly hard to appreciate the details while being crammed inside with an unmonitored amount of people. Yakushido hall (otherwise known as the crying dragon hall) was slightly better in terms of crowd control, but that was because the hall was built with a special acoustic trick and we were ushered in in groups to get a demonstration. When the temple attendant stood just below the mouth of the dragon painted on the ceiling and hit two wooden clappers together, a dragon like roar filled the room. Why it was designed like this? Just to impress and intimidate the peasants i guess.

In contrast, Ieyasu's final resting place, located high on the hill up the winding stone stairs, was surprisingly simple. No bright colours or gold leaf to be found, just plain stone steps leading to a tasteful metal tomb on top. Although immaculately cared for, unlike in the temple buildings below, time's passing has been allowed to subtly affect the grave; with a thin layer of moss present upon some of the stone and the metal dulled from the elements. Compared with the temple complex below, it felt like it was designed with quiet contemplation rather than a show of wealth in mind.

Leaving the temple complex behind we made our way to a near by Toshogu museum thats we could enter as part of the temple tickets price. The museum was fine, it mainly houses the belongings and weaponry of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and while the exhibits themselves were interesting it really wasn't that large of a collection. Perhaps if we were especially interested in Japanese swords it would have been worth the inflated ticket price we paid for dual entry, but as it was we felt a bit ripped off.

Knowing that our dinner options were going to once again be slim that evening, we made sure to pick somewhere good for lunch. Sanraku was packed inside but luckily we didnt have to wait for more than 10 minutes before we were shown to our table. Although the restaurants speciality was soba neither of us picked that option and instead Ben decided to try Oden and i went for a egg rice set. While my lunch was definitely delicious and filling, I couldn't help but have a little bit of food envy when i looked across the table to Bens lunch.

Feeling a bit templed out after our thorough exploration of Nikko Toshogu that morning we decided to give the other temples a miss and look at some of the other sites Nikko had to offer. First was the Kanaya Hotel History Museum, a former samurai house, turned hotel, turned museum. Although at first the fact the 400 year old home turned into a hotel seemed almost over represented in the museums name, we soon found out that it was one of the first hotels to be opened to foreigners in the whole of Japan. In the 1870's far before Nikko became the famous world heritage site it is now, Nikko was becoming popular spot for Japan's foreign diplomats to escape the intense summer humidity and in 1873, Hotel Kanaya opened its doors.

In the 120 years it operated as a hotel it preserved its original appearance. It's crazy to think that the rooms we explored and the rooms the first guests stayed in would have been almost the same. Of course over the years the tatami matting and the paper walls (shoji) would have been replaced but it looked to have been done in keeping with traditional practices in mind. It felt like this museum was slightly overlooked by Nikko's other visitors as we had the house to ourselves while we looked around. The caretaker for the house was more than happy to point out some of its more hidden features from when it belonged to a samurai, like what seemed to be an impractically high cupboard but was actually a secret hatch from the upper levels. Being able to discreetly jump on top on intruders seemed to be a common building feature in pre-Edo architecture from what we'd seen so far.

After the hotel museum, we headed over to the Tamozawa Imperial Villa - a former summer residence of the imperial family. Where Kanaya Hotel was simple in layout and very cohesive in style, Tamozawa's 106 rooms showed not only a mix of Edo and Meji architecture but blended aspects of western styles too. As we went from room to room, our bare feet padding against either carpeted flooring or more traditional tatami mat (we had to leave our shoes in the entrance) it was hard to imagine how life in the villa actually was. For one, we didn't come across any kitchens (or toilets), but on a less practical point of view I wonder how the rooms were actually used. Aesthetically, I enjoy how the Shoji walls look but how were they used in day to day life, were they closed to provide private spaces or pulled back?

In the end, Tamozawa villa ended up being one of our favourite spots to explore in Nikko. Not only was the inside beautiful yet understated, but once we'd finished with the house there was an extensive Japanese Garden to explore too. Unlike the temple, the whole place exuded a sense of peace and tranquility. Perhaps that was due to its more tasteful style or maybe it was due to the lack of crowds, once again we practically had the whole place to ourselves so we could explore at our own pace without feeling rushed.

Although we had only scratched the surface of the places to explore in Nikko, after one more nights sleep it would be time to head off again. We had enjoyed seeing what the area had to offer however we were slightly hampered due to lack of transport options. The buses do run out to most of the major sites in the area, but we missed some more of the more nature based attractions that we wanted to visit.When we first looked into visiting Nikko, I didn't fully realize how spread out everything was or how distant our hotel was from the main attractions. If we were to go again, I would choose a more convenient location to stay and either rent a car or join a tour to make the most of our time there. So our trip to Nikko wasn't perfect, but at least that gave us an excuse to go back.