Nikko

On July 4^th we made our way from the Fuji Five Lakes area back to Tokyo. In all, it was a rather uneventful day. Our bus was scheduled to leave at 12:30, but we were told to show up at 10:00 to see if there was room on that bus since that is when we wanted to leave originally. We woke up to some heavy rain. We scrounged around what we had and made a makeshift breakfast for ourselves since none of us wanted to venture outside. We booked a taxi and entertained ourselves in the hostel common rooms.

I think I can speak for all of us in saying that we were shocked by the bus system out of Kawaguchiko Station. Between the rain and random people buying a ticket as they got on, it was completely anarchy in comparison to what we’ve experienced on the train and subway system. We were told the previous day that we couldn’t book tickets for the 10am bus because there were only two seats left. We realized that this obviously was untrue when we were waiting to board the bus, and a large number of people were buying their tickets at that time from the driver. I tried to ask the English-speaking woman facilitating the line if we could get on before the people without their tickets since we already had ours. This was completely lost in translation because she kept telling me that there was already a line to get on the bus. I tried asking a different way but still got the same response. So, we waited in line and were able to get seats. None of us understood how they could tell us the previous day that there were not enough seats available when they clearly had not sold enough tickets to book the bus. In the end, it doesn’t matter because we were able to take the bus we wanted with only the one minor hiccup.

We arrived at the bus stop for Shinagawa Station, the station we had been to with Danna. We were able to find our way back to the main JR terminal with relative ease. A quick stop in a tourist information center reminded us the train line to take to drop us right by our hotel. We were about an hour early for check in, so we dropped our bags and went in search of the conveyor belt sushi spot that Danna had recommended. This place was apparently the one to invent the conveyor sushi idea. We had touch screens in front of us that allowed us to select the items that we wanted and they were sent out on the conveyor belt. There was also a secondary conveyor system that reminded me of the luggage conveyor belts at an airport. This also had the different sushi items on it covered by a plastic dish. We were informed that you did not touch the plastic, but grabbed the plate in the small opening and used it to open the plastic covering. None of us were brave enough to pull anything off of this conveyor system and instead, used the touch screen to order. I would have to say this was one of my least favorite places that we’ve eaten as I don’t like sushi, and the rest of the non-sushi menu was rather bland. Scott and Lynsey seemed to really enjoy their experience and food. Scott was fascinated by the conveyor belt system and said it might be the highlight of the trip for him. It was an interesting experience and unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced!

After lunch we were able to check in. Danna had given us permission to use her apartment to do some laundry. So, we headed there and followed her picture instructions to figure out the washer. She doesn’t have a dryer, but the bathroom has a heating system in it. Once we finished both loads of clothes, we set the dryer system for four hours and left.

Despite not doing anything all afternoon, we were still hungry and decided to try a Japanese barbeque place near our hotel for dinner. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but it was not to have a tiny little grill at our table where we grilled our own meat! We ordered a vegetable salad, large rice, bacon, boneless short ribs, and boneless chuck roast. We were brought a wedge of cabbage and barbeque sauce as a complimentary appetizer. Next, they brought out the two beef dishes we ordered. Scott grilled up the first batch and the waiter showed us that we were supposed to add soy sauce to our little dish for the meat after it was finished. Everything was thinly sliced and tasted divine! We took turns grilling the meat. When the bacon arrived, I was surprised at the thick chunks we were given. I was thinking of American style thin sliced bacon when we ordered. The bacon was by far my least favorite and everyone else’s part of the meal. It was extremely salty and did not have the same level of flavor that the beef offered. I also loved the vegetable salad that we ordered. Normally, I hate salad, but this had some type of toasted sesame seed oil on it. In my opinion, it rivaled for first place with the beef.

After dinner, we turned in early because we were getting up fairly early to make our way to Nikko for more temples. We arrived in Nikko to discover that the temperature was quite cool in comparison to the other cities and places we had visited. We bought a bus pass and headed for Rinnoji Temple where extravagance awaited us. Rinnoji is a unique complex. It was founded in 766 CE (still not sure what the CE stands for) and over the centuries combined the religions of Buddhism and Shinto. It was known as Nikkosan. When the Shogunate (Samurai Government) ended in 1867, the new government decided to create a clear distinction between the two religions. Because Nikkosan had spent almost 1,000 years combining the two religions, they could not simply choose to be one religion or the other. So, the complex split into one temple and two shrines, which are still around today.

Shintoism believes that natural spirits are manifested in the environment. The three mountains, Mt. Nyoho, Mt. Nantai, and Mt. Taro, are worshiped as deities. Rinnoji Temple houses three Buddhas that are believed to be incarnations of these three surrounding mountains. The temple itself is a beautiful building and the Buddha statues are awe-inspiring. We could not take photos inside the temple.

We passed a couple of other buildings on our way to Nikko Toshogu Shrine. The first was Gomado, Hall for the Fire Ritual. At temples and shrines here, you will see all kinds of paper and small wooden boards where people have written their prayers and wishes. These are burned in order to transmit the prayers to the Buddhist deities. We also passed Gojunoto, a Five-Storied Pagoda. I learned that the center poles inside of pagodas suspended from the fourth floor and stop before the foundation. This acts as a counterweight during earthquakes.

 

After the Pagoda is the first gate into the Toshogu Shrine where Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu is buried. It is an enormous complex and was crawling with students while we were there. We got stopped for many short interviews while the students practiced their English and asked us for our name, country, favorite Japanese food, and signature.

One of my favorite buildings within the complex was the Shinkyu, or Sacred Stable. It was mostly undecorated, but it contained eight panels of monkeys that teach how to lead an ideal life. The second one was ‘See no evil, speak no evil, and hear no evil.’

As I stated earlier, there were many gates in this complex and the second one we came across was Yomeimon Gate. It is an extravagant work of art with 508 carvings. It contains mythical creatures such as dragons and flying horses on the upper level and people on the lower level. Because it would invite bad luck if the gate were complete, one of the pillars on the backside was purposefully put in upside down, so it would be seen as incomplete.

The third gate contains a carving of a sleeping cat called Nemurineko. The cat protects the entrance to Tokugawa Ieyasu’s grave. This gate led to a series of steep stairs up the mountain to the gravesite. Each stone stair is carved from a single piece of rock. At the top of the stairs there was a torii made of stone. There is one final gate at the entrance to the grave called Inukimon Gate. It is made of bronze and was cast in 1650. Visitors are not allowed to go through this gate and are kept out of the gravesite with a stone fence. The grandeur of the shrine is truly a sight to behold.

After visiting the Shrine, we headed for lunch and stopped at the Shinkyo Bridge. It was a picturesque spot, but we did not spend a lot of time here. We made our way to Nikkozan Rinno-ji Temple Taiyu-in where Iemitsu, the third Tokugawa Shogun ruler and grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s grandson is buried. It was mentioned repeatedly that Iemitsu did not want to upstage his grandfather in his burial site, so everything is more muted and understated in his mausoleum. With this being said, it is still a grand and spectacular series of buildings.

Just like his grandfather’s shrine, there are three huge gates that lead to Iemitsu’s burial site. We didn’t spend a lot of time gawking at everything here because we were trying to stay ahead of a large group of students. I’m not sure if the complex had cleared out because of lunch and the misty rain that started, or if it is not as busy as Toshogu Shrine, but when we arrived it seemed as if we had the place to ourselves. It was a rather enjoyable experience. All we could see at the final resting place of Iemitsu was Kokamon Gate.

We searched for an interesting cloth to add to our collection on our way back to the train station but unfortunately did not find any. On our long train ride back to Tokyo, Scott took care of us by figuring out how we could take the Shinkansen to Sapporo for the last leg of Lynsey’s and my journey I was quite shocked to learn that we would spend the majority of the day on two different Shinkansen lines. Scott asked, “Didn’t you do any research on this?” To which I responded with a simple ‘Nope’. When Lynsey asked if I wanted to go up to Sapporo, I was all about it, but didn’t look into how long it would take. I just assumed it would be similar to getting to Hiroshima. It’s a bit more work and slightly longer, but we are on our way. We said goodbye to Scott this morning and left him to entertain himself before he has to leave for the airport. I know he has plans to go back to the conveyor belt sushi place. I wish he could come on the last leg of the journey with us, but since he cannot, I hope he as boring and uneventful flights back!