tohoku - part 3

i'm gettin lazy. boy. and it's only part three.

well. where was i? ahh. the ropeway in Nikko日光.

view from the top. this is Lake Chuzenji 中禅寺湖 and you can also see Kegon Falls 華厳の滝.



after going down on the ropeway again, i had a snack. skewered chicken.


then i hopped on a bus that took me to the vicinity of the lake and kegon falls.

kegon falls

more snacks. shoyu senbei! = soya sauce rice cracker. all time favourite yo!


huge torii gate near to lake chuzenji. cloudy.



i want one!


after a couple of hours, i headed back to downtown Nikko. had to find a place to stay for the night so i wondered around and found the place i wanted but it was a long uphill walk, about 20mins. phew. this place is a minshuku 民宿 = family-run inn.

these guys basically convert their homes into mini hotel. the owner said: sorry no dinner.
because i didnt reserve the room beforehand so they didnt have time to prepare my dinner. eh. no problems at all!

it is called Rindo no ie りんどうの家. means, Rindo's house.


me room. small tv. warmer table, you stick your feet in and keeps them warm. some sorta heater underneath. complimentary tea (make your own). where's the bed? in the cupboard. haha. tatami style so it means you have to pull out the futonふとん=mattress at night and lay it on the floor.


corridor. i think there was about 5 rooms.


little corner.


since there wasnt any dinner, i walked to the little town. it started drizzling.


ramen shop, in i went.

sat at the bar counter. couldnt resist ordering one BIG bottle of Kirin.WOOO


yummy.

oh when i checked in, the owner asked if i wanted breakfast (for a fee of course). i requested extra early breakfast because i had to finish the sights at Nikko and head off elsewhere. so i had breakfast at about 730am. they had a kind of living room/dining room. i was alone and here is my breakfast!

wonderful full course jap-styled breakfast. big tub of rice (red container). tea. soup. egg roll. tofu. grilled salmon. pickles. sausage. hash brown.




paid up. asked owner for directions to the Toshogu Shrine area. he actually offered to drive me there! so kind of him. if i walk, it would be a good half hour. so i left at 8am and was there in 5mins. well, i am typically a night person but this day, i appreciate what an early morning can offer. peace. tranquility.


this is Rinnoji Temple　倫王寺



i was so early, the monks just finished their morning prayers.




next door. Toshogu Shrine 東照宮
since it was really still early, there wasnt much tourists around. which i only found out later when i exited the shrine, what a good thing it was to start early. well, nicer pics without meddlesome tourists for one.