5 November 2015
Sleepy train ride
A day trip to Nikko to view the bridge
Still not 100% healthy, I was determined to go to nature anyway, but no ascent of mount anything yet.
Instead I paid a hefty fee to go to Nikko.
My intended train was full of tour groups going to ooh and aah at leaves changing color, so I had to wait an hour and take a slower train.
I thought to myself, whats an extra 45 minutes each way, and then I worked it out, 90 minutes.
The ride in each direction was about 2 hours and 15 minutes, which now that I can do maths as proven above, is 135 minutes.
Thats a long time but there would be a lot to see out the window and the soothing clickety clack of the train line.
That idea vanished as soon as I got on board, and Japanese people ensured every single blind was pulled all the way down, for the duration of the journey. The same happened on the way back. No view. Maybe I am in North Korea and theres things you cant see between Tokyo and Nikko. I will never know.
I did get to see a special boy who I think lives on the train, because he did not get off at Nikko, and was there waiting on the train when I came back later. His main activity on the train was to pull very hard on his ears which seemed visibly stretched from years of doing so, and make train noises as he walked through the carriage.
I felt safe knowing that train boy was there to guard us.
So instead of looking out the window, I fell into a stupor, slowly nodding in my seat and marvelling at all the snoring Japanese people on the completely full train with no bathroom and no vending machine.
Nikko better be good....
It was ok. I wouldnt make a day of it, but I did. I wanted to climb the mountain but thats a 2 day at least excursion sleeping on the mountain with no transport to the base of the mountain other than hitch hiking.
The town is compared to Kamakura as the Kyoto of the North, I dont think its as nice, its certainly smaller and appears a bit run down.
The temples all have separate admission fees, and most are under heavy restoration, as you shall see below. Also EVERYWHERE in Nikko is paranoid about no photos. Even standing outside a shop with my camera sent a woman crazy with yelling NO PHOTO!
My top tip for Tokyo day trip, go to Kamakura not Nikko. Maybe Hakone is good, but its currently closed still due to all the people being stoned to death by the volcano.
The train station to Nikko is near the skytree, so I took a photo. It might have been culled but due to NO PHOTO! later in the day, it stays.
This is the train I took. It loses carriages along the way, which is weird because everyone on it is going to Nikko, so as they take carriages off, more and more people squeeze into the few remaining.
It must be something to do with the size of the station I think.
I didnt actually stop for lunch, because I couldnt find anything around the temple area except ice cream and potato chips.
Back in the town I could have had whale it seems, but by then I was full of ice cream.
This is the famous bridge. You wont believe this, but theres a fee to walk across it. You pay $4, and walk from one side, to the other. I think you can walk back and forth if you want. Or you can stand here and take a photo instead. NO PHOTO!
The guy selling tickets to stand on the bridge was adamant I cant take a photo from a public street.
This is the ticket booth for the bridge walk. Nice leaves.
Apparently, a phone box. A woman charged out of the shop to tell me off for taking a photo. I was going to buy something from the bakery there. Guess not.
I felt this area was secluded enough to risk taking my camera out without getting yelled at.
This is the famous temple. Note it is a shed. They have constructed a shed over the temple whilst its being restored, but still charge admission to go in the shed.
Pay to look inside a construction site? Sign me up! There were very dusty statues inside, it took all of 3 minues to walk through with a guy following me holding a no photo sign hurrying me along.
Best view of the day, there are temples and whatever down each side, each has its own admission fee. Why you cant buy a ticket to visit them all I dont know.
A group of school kids being advised to not take any photos.
Now thats where I should have been, but alas it was not to be.
Bonus photo of very impressive mountain range. A slightly bigger mountain is just to the left and behind it, Mount Nantai which is very popular among climbers but you need a car to get to it.