Glimpses of Familiar Japan - Day 5 (Nikko)

(My Parents and I at Keagon Falls, Nikko)

In every trip I looked at, through every guided journey and every tour of Japan, I found one glaring omission; Nikko, Japan.   Even I had never heard of it until a random search of youtube turned up a video called “Take two minutes to relax” with the city’s name on it.  The images were of serene temples, fog drenched forests, and water flowing freely down long gorges.  The moment I saw it, I knew I wanted to go, and then I started doing research and I was floored.   Nikko is one of the most beautiful, friendly, primeval places I saw in my glimpse of Japan.  If there is a spiritual heart of my journey, it lies here.  

Nikko has been a Zen Buddhist destination for hundreds of years, spanning back before the Tokugawa Shogunate.  Yet it was here, of all places, that the first Tokugawa shoguns chose to be buried, and after visiting it I see why.  The place is nothing but mountains, lakes, gorges and forests as far as the eye can see.   The mausoleums of the shoguns are the main tourist destination to see here, but there is so much more in the town and the surrounding countryside.  

Yamibiko 207 bullet train

Our transport there was the Yamibiko 207 bullet train, and when I say train I mean a sleek dolphin headed vehicle that traveled about 200 miles an hour.   I’ve always wanted to ride a bullet train, and after doing so I have to say I understand the desire for high speed rail travel in the United States.

Trains are on the dot with their schedules in Japan, and they don’t suffer you being late.  You miss your train, you miss your train and they don’t wait.   The bullet train is also incredibly comfortable.  Even going 200 mph, you can stand, walk about the cabin as if it were an airplane.  In fact, airplanes and bullet trains are similar in design. 

Epic train penguin!

The bullet train was a wonderful trip because we sat down in these very comfortable seats and watched the world pass us by.  The train really didn’t get going until we left Tokyo, but we passed through the city in under a half an hour and then out into a completely different world.  Tall buildings became green fields, farms and forested mountains.   Just traveling past Tokyo’s outlying areas, you get a sense of how big this city really is. 

The bullet train stopped at Yutsonomiya, and then we had to take a special commuter train to Nikko proper.   It had a rustic and very old feeling to it.  The journey did not take long and passed through more pastoral country, small towns and little areas I wished I could get out and explore.

The town of Nikko near the station.

The town of Nikko itself is not exactly a tourist trap, but not exactly out of the way.  It caters to the people who travel to the temples and hot springs in the mountains around it, and as such it has stores and shops that have a distinctively tourist feel without being terribly tacky.   We arrived after a light rain and boarded the first bus we could to our lodging at Lake Chuzenji above Nikko.  There's only one road up there, and one road down and the bus was packed with people.  We had to sit with our luggage on our knees wedged between the other people and going up wasn’t the most pleasant experience. 

The roadway up into the town surrounded by the green of the hills.

The way up was winding, and I got a little car-sick, but we arrived at the top and the Nikko Lakeside Hotel.  From the outside, the structure isn’t too spectacular and the inside is much the same.  It has a certain dated feel, but there is a quiet serenity about it.  The hotel looks out on a small lawn, with trees and the lake beyond that.  There’s always a quiet murmur down there, and while the lobby could use an update, it was just fine for our purposes.   The rooms were an even larger throwback to the past.  Not fancy in the least, and certainly not by the comparison of the Okura in Tokyo.   Even so, my room had a view over the lake even if it did smell of cigarettes.  With the window open, though, I didn’t notice and didn’t really mind. 

Nikko Lakeside Hotel.

Inside of my room, very small and simple.  But the view outside (below) was worth it.

I walked around a bit at the hotel first, found out it had a natural hot spring or sento that was free to hotel guests and attached by a covered walkway.   Shortly thereafter, while my parents were still resting, I took a walk around the town.   This area is called Lake Chuzenji, and while there are many hot spring resorts around it, this southern half of the lake was a very quiet sort of tourist town.  I walked about the neighborhoods a bit, alone for the first time in Japan.  It gave me a feeling of serenity and desire to want to explore more on my own. 

The rain that fell created a sheen of beauty over everything.

Gateway into Chuzenji.

The town surrounding Lake Cuzenji is ideally picturesque.

Storefront in Nikko.  Note the Tanuke statue.

Canal leading to Kegon Falls

I walked past shops and restaurants, up the hills and past trees in their vibrant colors.  There are lots of woodworking shops and professions around this area which is a given because forests and the nature of the shrines in Nikko itself.   I discovered a little school up there, likely a junior high, and since the school was out I checked out the campus.  It has a very different feel from schools in the States or at least where I live.  Very self-contained and surrounded by this beauty of nature.  I walked back down along the road with a new goal in mind, the Kegon Falls. 

Kegon Gorge

I’d read about the Kegon Falls in anticipation of coming to Nikko, and they are the premier attraction of Chuzenji next to the lake itself.  Approaching the falls, I was immediately captivated.  The water plunges down a good 500 or so feet along sheer granite cliffs surrounded by the rich colors of trees.  The gorge is shrouded in a heavy mist.  Then, as if by magic, the mist disappears and you are greeted by the sight of the waterfall.

My first view of the falls

The air is filled with a palpable energy created by the falls, and everywhere there is rushing water to be seen.   I knew there was a way to the bottom by elevator to see them up close, and I found the location.  My parents, feeling a bit better, joined me.  We bought tickets and went down the elevator through solid rock and emerged at a platform in the gorge beneath the waterfall.  It was an extraordinary sight, and not something to be missed or skipped.   We stood and watched the falls for what seemed like forever, but at least until it started to get dark.

I could not get enough of the colors.

At this point we went back, and the gentle light of the street lamps illuminated the still wet streets and the torii gate straddling the road.  With this rainy, cloudly atmosphere, it was just perfect.  We took a nice little meal at the hotel and retired to bed knowing that tomorrow we had an early morning and a busy day.  

View from the platform in the gorge itself.