Monday, April 3, 2017
Tokyo to Nikko

Got up early and had a buffet breakfast at the hotel.  We couldn't linger there long because we had to be packed and ready to leave the hotel on the bus at 9:00.  Today we headed to Nikko which was about a two hour bus ride.  When we arrived we had lunch at a popular restaurant.  David had grilled toast and one piece of the toast had a couple pieces of small yellow cheese cooked into it. The other pieces of toast were plain and he just spread them with a choice of really good butter, peanut butter, or raspberry jam.  I had a club sandwich. Both were very good!

After lunch we visited a UNESCO World Heritage site Tosho-gu (Japan's most ornate shrine complex), dedicated to the Edo Period's first shogun, Tokugawa leyasu.  He and his descendants ruled Japan for over 250 years. Just as a side note, Tokyo was known as Edo before it was called Tokyo. The shrine was originally built in 1617.  It was enlarged and about a dozen buildings added to the complex by 1636.

First you enter the Shinto Gate.  The traditional gate symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred.  You should bow as you enter the gate.  

Here are two of the carvings on the storehouses right inside the gate.  They were carved by master carver Hidari Jingorou.  One is the "sleeping cat," and the other is the famous three monkeys -- hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.  

After spending a lot of time exploring the shrine and the surrounding buildings and forest, we checked into our traditional Japanese ryokan.  

The ryokan had an onsen -- a Japanese hot spring -- so we had our first opportunity to soak in it before dinner.  Onsen water is said to have healing powers derived from its mineral content.  Males and females bathe separately and there is a bit of a ritual involved.  You must shower before getting into the onsen and you must be naked.  This onsen had an indoor pool which was huge and an outdoor area with lounge chairs and two small pools. One pool was cool water and the other was the hot spring water.  David and I both bathed and it was very relaxing.  After soaking, most people shower again to wash the minerals off their skin.  Soap, shampoo and conditioner and body lotion were provided to use after your bath.  I'm sorry I could not take any pictures because the setting was lovely.  

We were given yukatas to wear to our group dinner.  I must say they are VERY comfortable!

Here is the first group picture taken on the trip.  There were four couples from the UK -- three of the couples were friends and travel together frequently.  One couple was from India and the other couple was from Australia.  All in all a great group!

The presentation of the dinner was beautiful!  The white square box contained the beef that I cooked in the hot pot shown on the upper left corner.

We had a great evening and when we returned to our rooms our beds were made up for us. They were surprising comfortable and we had a very good night's sleep.

We truly enjoyed our stay at the ryokan and wish we could have spent more time there but we had to move on the next day.