Gerald and Richi go to Japan!: Nikko (north of Tokyo)

Our first real getaway from Tokyo was to Nikko, a leafy town about 3 hours north of Tokyo by train. During the sweltering Tokyo heat it was real nice to get some cool air up near the mountains. The town is about half a kilometre above sea level and covered in natural greenery and old temples, some of which are world heritage sites. Also naturally, it is really popular with tourists!

The train ride was actually a lot more grinding than I thought it would be. It takes almost the same time to get from Tokyo to Kyoto on a bullet train, except the seats are way less comfy. With no music, and all our snack food consumed within the first five minutes, a lot of that time was spent dozing off. Well, for Gerald anyway, I was too worried we'd sleep through our stop so I was awake for most of the trip.

Our plan for the day was to just stroll around and enjoy the sights and visit a few temples along the way. There wasn't much to see in terms of a grand and spectacular attraction, but it is perfect for a relaxing day out. That's right, we opted not to stay over night, for one, accommodation prices were through the roof, and there wasn't a lot to do or see. There was a bus that you catch from the station that takes you to a temple, and from there you can see everything by foot pretty easily in a day.

In all I'd say we visited about 5 temples, and although temples start looking the same after a while, this was a bit different than the cloned temple feeling of Kyoto. The long stretching walkways, stone pebble paths and long stair cases along with the natural surroundings makes any visitor stop every now and again to take it all in. As always, I got sucked into buying a good luck charm from one of vendors, which I keep safely with me at all times in my wallet.

There isn't much more to say about this place, it's something you just have to see and experience. Or maybe my English isn't good enough to find words for it. If you get the chance, definitely try to go there for a day if you feel clogged up in busy Tokyo. Oh and I almost forgot that the surround areas of Nikko are famous for hot springs, we didn't even consider going as we were getting the same effect for free by just standing outside in the ridiculous summer humidity.