Japan 2019
- We took a 9 day trip in summer, based around work commitments in Tokyo and some time out in Nikko. Spent 5 nights in Tokyo and 3 nights in Nikko, with a late flight out of Haneda Airport on the last day.
- Our Tokyo hotel was in the Shimbashi district. In our free time together in Tokyo we chose to explore the area from Shimbashi (south east) through Roppongi (south central) to Shibuya (south west).
- The days in Nikko were purely for pleasure. Nikko is ~150 kms due north of Tokyo, about 2 hours by train. We stayed in a lovely ryokan (guesthouse) with an excellent onsen (bathhouse).
- The main attractions are the World Heritage shrines and temples of the Edo period (1600-1868), dotted around a beautiful woodland setting.
- We also took a day to travel west to Lake Chuzen-ji and experience some R&R Japanese-style.
- The transport system is so reliable that we were able to spend a leisurely morning at the Tamozawa Imperial Villa in Nikko on the day of our departure.
Tokyo 2019
Arrived late Saturday night. Headed out on Sunday morning to explore the local district. First stop was Atago-jinja. The word 'jinja' means a Shinto place of worship. This one dates back to 1603. It's a lovely oasis of quiet and green surrounded by roads and skyscrapers....
Nikko
In Nikko we splashed out on half-board at a good quality ryokan overlooking the Daiya river. For 3 days we were very well fed and bathed ourselves morning and evening. Resplendent in our daily choice of kimonos. It was all extremely pleasant.We arrived on Thursday...
Shrines and temples of Nikko
Friday was spent exploring Nikko's World Heritage shrines and temples. Old Shin-kyo Bridge spans the river near the entrance.We spent most of our time in the Tosho-gu Shrine which is by far the largest. It includes the tomb of Tokogawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa...
Lake Shuzen-ji
On Saturday we took the bus to Lake Chuzen-ji (Chuzenjiko). The road from/ to Nikko is an impressive one-way loop. At Chuzenjiko we boarded a ferry that circumnavigates the lake. The ferry is hop on/hop off so you can fit a lot into the day. Paddle boats, mountain scenery,...
Tamozawa Imperial Villa
We had a late flight home from Haneda Airport on Sunday night. The transport system is so reliable that we were happy to spend the morning in Nikko, confident we'd make all of our connections. We walked up to the Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park. It was used as...
