I spent the night with my friends in Shinjuku expecting them to wake up really early in the morning due to jet lag, and take advantage of it by heading out to Nikko from Asakusa on the first train. Suprisingly, everyone slept in and woke up like they never had any jet lag. I’m so jealous…..freaks…..

Even though they didn’t wake up as early as I thought they would we still were able to take an early morning Tobu train to Nikko. We took advantage of being foreigners by buying a 3600 yen World Heritage Pass which allows us a roundtrip ticket to Nikko and/or Kinugawa Onsen (hotsprings) plus free access to shrines and temples and unlimited bus rides….a Great Deal!

I’ve been to Nikko one time before with my wife and has a very special place in my heart because while eating breakfast at our hotel, a very smart, elderly woman, who worked at the restaurant, came up to my wife and told her that I was a very, very handsome man. So, while on the way up to Nikko I thought in the back of my mind I could make this sweet, very smart, perfect vision, elderly woman’s day by suprising her by maybe taking a picture together so she could blow it up poster size and hang it in her home or even thoughout the hotel (for those who don’t know me, I’m being very sarcastic).

Anyhow, back to reality - if you spend a little more than a thousand yen or so you can ride their Limited Express train called Spacia, which would arrive about 20 minutes sooner and is more comfortable to ride. We opted out…..

We arrived in Nikko and one of my friends commented that it looks like Leavenworth back home in Washington State. It’s a small town nestled on the edge of the Japan Alps and in fact we were high enough in elevation that some snow still hasn’t melted from this past winter.

Nikko is where Tokugawa Ieyasu and his grandson, Iemitsu’s mausoleum is located. Also located in Nikko is Tōshō-gū, Futarasan Shrine and Rinnō-ji which are Unesco World Heritage Sites. It’s a must visit for any foreign and Japanese tourist. If you never been to Nikko and know the importance of Tokugawa Ieyasu, then whatever you imagine how spectacular his mausoleum would be, you will not be disappointed. My pictures below don’t do it any justice.

After we arrived in the area where everything is located via a short bus trip from Tobu station, we worked our way up from the shrines and temples to the mausoleum and because of the many, steep steps by left knee was killing me! So bring some good walking shoes and prepare like you’re hiking up a mountain. The steps are brutal…….imagine me whining about my left knee to Tokugawa Ieyasu…..there goes my head - someone get it !

An interesting observation was made by one of my friends while visiting Iemitsu’s mausoleum. At Iemitsu’s gate there are 4 demons located in the front and back of an entrance; which isn’t unusual however, what’s unusual about this gate is that the demons are in a feminine pose (see first picture below). What a great observation! Was Tokugawa Iemitsu gay or bisexual? He apparantely was based on this Wikipedia article.

Since we still has some light left, we were able to squeeze in Asakusa in East Tokyo. Senso-ji is a buddhist temple dedicated to the Bodhisattva Kannon. It’s one of the top tourist spots in Tokyo and it’s the best place to buy tradional gifts of any kind from any shop that lines the pathway to the temple. Also, right before you reach the temple, and I think only the weekends and festivals, “Yatai” (small mobile food stalls) are set up temporarily selling foods such as okonomiyaki, yakisoba, kakigori and takoyaki; which are all very good and I highly recommend eating it with a nice cold beer!

Before heading back to the hotel in Shinjuku we had dinner at a Tonkatsu restaurant in Asakusa and we were able to fit a quick Shinkansen (Bullet Train) view at Tokyo Station. We just bought a 130 yen nyujyo-ken (entrance ticket) to enter the Shinkansen platform and were able to watch them depart & arrive and took a couple of pictures. The restaurant was smoky and old, but the food and beer were very good. Compared to other parts of Tokyo, Asakusa keeps to it’s relaxed image and retains it’s old traditional Japanese feel from hundreds of years ago to just decades back. Nothing has changed at all…….which is good….

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