First Stop - Nikko (日光) (Tochigi Prefecture)
Snow and SteamOn hindsight, I was glad that I was travelling with 2 male companions instead of another female. But I am jumping ahead of myself.
It was 7 am and bitingly cold when we got our JR Passes at Narita Airport Station. From Utsunomiya Station to JR Nikko Station, the train was giving off warm air from beneath the seats, and I was lured into thinking that the outside was not as cold as it looked, even with the patches of snow that grew bigger as we approached Nikko.
We stepped out of the station to be faced with a scene right out of how I imagined the story "Heidi" to be set in (below).
We were picked up by Hotel Kosho's (高照) minibus, which made its way round the winding road, past beautiful bubbling brooks, towards the mountains, up to the 3-storeyed building. Alvin promptly managed to topple a tall vase at the entrance with his big backpack. Water splashed onto the marble floor but luckily the vase did not break. After many apologies and bows, we exited the hotel and made our way around town.
After an entire afternoon walking around the town, I wasn't that delighted about the snow and wind anymore. We did see many postcard scenes though, like the Sacred Bridge,
a wall proclaiming the 4-way test (of..?),
The Rinnoji temple, which we reached too late for a tour.
Narnia-like patch of forest. Can you see HC down there?
HC and Alvin kept slipping on patches of ice. Alvin scared us, and himself, with so many jerks on the roads that we made him do this:
Snow-surfing!
We returned to Hotel Kosho to see a puddle of water lying across the door, dripping onto the floor outside. How long does it take for water to dry up in winter? Hmm...
Dinner was a feast. Dishes of sashimi, tempura and various other seafood, plus nabe, a pot of hot green tea, miso soup and frozen mangosteen, all for our consumption! HC had to take 3 period breaks but he still couldn't finish his entire meal.
However, the most exciting part has got to be when I was kneeling to top up green tea for the guys (how terribly Japanese!) and the floor trembled. Oi, it wasn't coz I overate ok? I looked up stunned at HC opposite me, as gentler vibrations followed. In all, it lasted about 5 secs, but it felt longer to me. My first experience of earthquake tremors! The old lady who led us to the dining room came in smiling, reassuring us, although none of us could really understand what she said exactly.
Returning to our room, we discovered elves had been at work. Our futons were laid out nicely in a row. With the tv on, and the hot air blowing at us, we were all ready to go to bed. However, there was something we HAD to try!
How to wear yutakas?
Tea ceremony? Not exactly. It was the indoor bath downstairs! I had a bit of trouble deciding what to do. Should I leave my clothes nearby in the room itself or in the locker at the changing room? How fast could I run for them if someone came in? How much would the person be able to see (everything, actually, as I found out in the morning)?
Shiok! I wanted to stay in there forever! We had to settle for going again in the morning.
Note the trees and snow beyond the steam! Imagine being up to your chin in very hot water, and breathing the cold crisp air in!
posted by Addy @ 2:30 PM
2 Comments:
hey ade..
u got how many blogs one ah..hah.. one for book reviews, one is the more frequently updated one.. then this is for waT? holidays? haha.. i'm sooooo blur now.. =P
Lilo
Yup yup! This is my travel blog. The book blog is also public.
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