After two rather busy days in Tokyo, it was time to leave the urban jungle and explore the Japanese countryside a bit… Our first destination was Nikko, where Matsuoka had kindly offered to show us around (he had a day off since it was the Emperor’s birthday). Joining us for the trip was also Andy, and the son of a friend of Matsuoka’s (some Japanese history and English lessons in store for the young lad…).
After a brisk walk from the hotel, we caught the train from Asakusa to our destination; Nikko. Nikko is one of the holiest places in Japan, with an impressive collection of temples and shrines in a very nice setting. The place dates back all the way to the 8th century, when it became an important Buddhist teaching centre. Its importance faded during the coming centuries, but once more became famous (or notorious?) when the mausoleum of Ieyasu Tokugawa was built here. Tokugawa was a great, but unscrupulous (he apparently had his wife and son killed for political reasons) warlord, who united Japan and started a dynasty that was to rule Japan for two and a half centuries.
The place is certainly impressive. An energetic half-hour walk took us to the temple area, which is very nicely located on an idyllic forested hill; which thanks to the chilly weather was snow-covered (made it all very photogenic – many opportunities to try out my new camera ;-). Having admired the three golden Buddha statues at the historic Rinno-ji temple (it’s over 1200 years old), we made our way to the most famous sight at Nikko – Toshu-gu – the mausoleum of Ieyasu Tokugawa. After an hour or so of gaping at the temple buildings (my favourite sight, apart from the mausoleum itself, were the monkey carvings at the “holy stables”), one more magnificent than the other, we continued our tour.
Our next stop was Taiyuin-jinja, which is the mausoleum of Ieyasu’s grandson, Iemitsu Tokugawa. This collection of temples was perhaps somewhat less imposing than that of Toshu-gu, but on the other hand it feels like a more peaceful and intimate place, located as it is on a small hill-top, surrounded by a lush, snow-covered forest. I had the impression there were also fewer tourists here, perhaps some people were discouraged by the walk up to the temple.
By now we felt we’d had our share of temples & shrines for the day, and decided to have a nourishing lunch of hot noodle soup. We then headed back into Nikko town, very content with our visit. The plan was to try out one of the local onsens (onsens are “hot springs spas”; which cover the Japanese volcanic islands). Unfortunately the taxi driver took us to a normal spa, not the “real thing”, so Matsuoka (who takes his onsens very seriously decided it would be better head back into town instead for some cake & coffee in a cosy-looking café by the train station (we fully supported his decision here).
Our stomachs well-filled, we jumped on the train back to Tokyo (which left on time, as always seems to be the case in Japan…). After arriving in Asakusa, we crossed Tokyo on the metro, to Roppongi, where we had dinner booked for 7. The restaurant Andy and Satoko had kindly booked for us is a rather famous place; called Gonpachi. The place is VERY special for a movie fanatic like myself, since apparently Quentin Tarantino used the restaurant as inspiration for the famous fight scene at “the House of Blue Leaves” in Kill Bill: Vol I. Much to my shame, it took me a while to actually come up with the Movie Connection, when asked on the spot… Anyways, in addition to the movie connection; the food, beer and sake was also excellent, so one can safely say we had a brilliant time there!
After the meal, Matsuoka, his friend’s son and Satoko left us at this point (Satoko actually went back to the office to do some more work – I can’t recall having ever committed an act of such devotion to my employer…). We continued our “Roppongi by night” tour with Andy by a visit to the top of the 54-floor Mori Tower at the Roppongi hills property complex, from where we were greeted by some amazing views over Tokyo (I also had my first experience with the amazingly high-tech Japanese toilets, which come fully equipped with seat heating, sound system, and even a water jet for “cleaning up afterwards”). After checking out the impressive Christmas lights at the Midtown shopping centre, we ended up at “the sports bar” (ousted there by an Australian tout who insisted the place “would change our lives”) for a last drink, before catching the train to Denenchofu, a leafy suburb where Andy and Satoko live.
The next day, more temples were on the cards; the plan was to head to Kamakura this time. Again, getting to Kamakura was a breeze thanks to the amazing Japanese rail network (still trying to catch at least one train leaving even one minute too late, no luck so far…).
Kamakura was the capital of Japan between 1185 and 1335, so it has played a very important role in the history of Japan. Temples and shrines is once more what it’s all about – there are 65 and 19 respectively of them here. We started off by Engaku-ji, a Buddhist temple located near the train station. It’s a nice enough place; surrounded by nature, and relatively unfrequented by tourists (compared to Nikko). After a quick noodle soup lunch (we were once again surprised about how cheaply you can eat for in Japan…), we carried on our exploration of Kamakura. Our tour took us along a footpath towards one of the main attractions of Kamakura, the Big Buddha. Along the way, there are a couple of interesting temples and shrines to visit – I especially liked the place where you “launder your money”. Basically you wash your money (notes) in the holy water, and then let it dry on its own. Apparently this money will bring you good luck. We shall see… ;-)
After this brisk bit of exercise, we finally arrived at the Daibutsu, or Big Buddha. It is very impressive bronze statue indeed, measuring 13 meters and weighing no less than 93 tons. The Buddha was originally housed in a temple, but the temple building was washed away by a tsunami in the 15th century. Having gaped at the Buddha for a while, we made our way to downtown Kamakura, to visit the most important shintoist shrine in town, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū (a bit of a mouthful, that…). Being a rather busy and “urban temple”, it’s quite different from the smaller and more peaceful temples and shrines we’d visited earlier.
That was enough temples and shrines for one day, we figured (one can quite easily get temple overdose in Japan, wonderful though they may be), so decided to head further south to Yokohama. Yokohama is actually the second biggest city in Japan after Tokyo, with a population of nearly 4 million. It’s not a very touristy place, since most of the city was devastated by allied bombings during World War 2. But we liked it. It’s certainly a very lively place; with loads of people out and about, and plenty of bars and restaurants. What’s nice about Japan is that the cities are really lively during the evenings/nights, unlike a lot of European cities. The neon lights bring the skyscraper-dotted modern Japanese cities a certain aesthetic as well…
The main draw of Yokohama is its Chinatown, the biggest of its kind in Japan (being a port city, Yokohama is a pretty cosmopolitan city, with a large population of Chinese). We spent a good hour walking around there, looking for a suitable restaurant. We eventually found a simple, reasonably priced place, where we dined. Content, with filled stomachs, we headed back to catch the train to Denenchofu (and yep, all the trains were on time again).
After a brisk walk from the hotel, we caught the train from Asakusa to our destination; Nikko. Nikko is one of the holiest places in Japan, with an impressive collection of temples and shrines in a very nice setting. The place dates back all the way to the 8th century, when it became an important Buddhist teaching centre. Its importance faded during the coming centuries, but once more became famous (or notorious?) when the mausoleum of Ieyasu Tokugawa was built here. Tokugawa was a great, but unscrupulous (he apparently had his wife and son killed for political reasons) warlord, who united Japan and started a dynasty that was to rule Japan for two and a half centuries.The place is certainly impressive. An energetic half-hour walk took us to the temple area, which is very nicely located on an idyllic forested hill; which thanks to the chilly weather was snow-covered (made it all very photogenic – many opportunities to try out my new camera ;-). Having admired the three golden Buddha statues at the historic Rinno-ji temple (it’s over 1200 years old), we made our way to the most famous sight at Nikko – Toshu-gu – the mausoleum of Ieyasu Tokugawa. After an hour or so of gaping at the temple buildings (my favourite sight, apart from the mausoleum itself, were the monkey carvings at the “holy stables”), one more magnificent than the other, we continued our tour.
Our next stop was Taiyuin-jinja, which is the mausoleum of Ieyasu’s grandson, Iemitsu Tokugawa. This collection of temples was perhaps somewhat less imposing than that of Toshu-gu, but on the other hand it feels like a more peaceful and intimate place, located as it is on a small hill-top, surrounded by a lush, snow-covered forest. I had the impression there were also fewer tourists here, perhaps some people were discouraged by the walk up to the temple. By now we felt we’d had our share of temples & shrines for the day, and decided to have a nourishing lunch of hot noodle soup. We then headed back into Nikko town, very content with our visit. The plan was to try out one of the local onsens (onsens are “hot springs spas”; which cover the Japanese volcanic islands). Unfortunately the taxi driver took us to a normal spa, not the “real thing”, so Matsuoka (who takes his onsens very seriously decided it would be better head back into town instead for some cake & coffee in a cosy-looking café by the train station (we fully supported his decision here).
Our stomachs well-filled, we jumped on the train back to Tokyo (which left on time, as always seems to be the case in Japan…). After arriving in Asakusa, we crossed Tokyo on the metro, to Roppongi, where we had dinner booked for 7. The restaurant Andy and Satoko had kindly booked for us is a rather famous place; called Gonpachi. The place is VERY special for a movie fanatic like myself, since apparently Quentin Tarantino used the restaurant as inspiration for the famous fight scene at “the House of Blue Leaves” in Kill Bill: Vol I. Much to my shame, it took me a while to actually come up with the Movie Connection, when asked on the spot… Anyways, in addition to the movie connection; the food, beer and sake was also excellent, so one can safely say we had a brilliant time there! 
After the meal, Matsuoka, his friend’s son and Satoko left us at this point (Satoko actually went back to the office to do some more work – I can’t recall having ever committed an act of such devotion to my employer…). We continued our “Roppongi by night” tour with Andy by a visit to the top of the 54-floor Mori Tower at the Roppongi hills property complex, from where we were greeted by some amazing views over Tokyo (I also had my first experience with the amazingly high-tech Japanese toilets, which come fully equipped with seat heating, sound system, and even a water jet for “cleaning up afterwards”). After checking out the impressive Christmas lights at the Midtown shopping centre, we ended up at “the sports bar” (ousted there by an Australian tout who insisted the place “would change our lives”) for a last drink, before catching the train to Denenchofu, a leafy suburb where Andy and Satoko live. The next day, more temples were on the cards; the plan was to head to Kamakura this time. Again, getting to Kamakura was a breeze thanks to the amazing Japanese rail network (still trying to catch at least one train leaving even one minute too late, no luck so far…).
Kamakura was the capital of Japan between 1185 and 1335, so it has played a very important role in the history of Japan. Temples and shrines is once more what it’s all about – there are 65 and 19 respectively of them here. We started off by Engaku-ji, a Buddhist temple located near the train station. It’s a nice enough place; surrounded by nature, and relatively unfrequented by tourists (compared to Nikko). After a quick noodle soup lunch (we were once again surprised about how cheaply you can eat for in Japan…), we carried on our exploration of Kamakura. Our tour took us along a footpath towards one of the main attractions of Kamakura, the Big Buddha. Along the way, there are a couple of interesting temples and shrines to visit – I especially liked the place where you “launder your money”. Basically you wash your money (notes) in the holy water, and then let it dry on its own. Apparently this money will bring you good luck. We shall see… ;-)
After this brisk bit of exercise, we finally arrived at the Daibutsu, or Big Buddha. It is very impressive bronze statue indeed, measuring 13 meters and weighing no less than 93 tons. The Buddha was originally housed in a temple, but the temple building was washed away by a tsunami in the 15th century. Having gaped at the Buddha for a while, we made our way to downtown Kamakura, to visit the most important shintoist shrine in town, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū (a bit of a mouthful, that…). Being a rather busy and “urban temple”, it’s quite different from the smaller and more peaceful temples and shrines we’d visited earlier. 
That was enough temples and shrines for one day, we figured (one can quite easily get temple overdose in Japan, wonderful though they may be), so decided to head further south to Yokohama. Yokohama is actually the second biggest city in Japan after Tokyo, with a population of nearly 4 million. It’s not a very touristy place, since most of the city was devastated by allied bombings during World War 2. But we liked it. It’s certainly a very lively place; with loads of people out and about, and plenty of bars and restaurants. What’s nice about Japan is that the cities are really lively during the evenings/nights, unlike a lot of European cities. The neon lights bring the skyscraper-dotted modern Japanese cities a certain aesthetic as well… The main draw of Yokohama is its Chinatown, the biggest of its kind in Japan (being a port city, Yokohama is a pretty cosmopolitan city, with a large population of Chinese). We spent a good hour walking around there, looking for a suitable restaurant. We eventually found a simple, reasonably priced place, where we dined. Content, with filled stomachs, we headed back to catch the train to Denenchofu (and yep, all the trains were on time again).
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