Day 55 – Nikko to Kawaguchiko
Today we checked out of our accommodation Sleping Nikko Inali. Before we left Nikko though, we decided to have a quick look at the temples we had missed yesterday, with our newly found tour guide friend, who was kind enough to say she will show us around and the super cool Canadian guy. We had to say bye to the rest of our new friends 🙁
Toshugu Shrine
The first stop was Toshugu Shrine. The place was busy even in the morning as it was the last day of the festival. The main shrine was actually closed due to the festival.
Then we climbed around 100 steps to the Inukimon Gate, which was built in 1650 made of Bronze.
Taiyuin Temple
We then left for the Taiyuin Temple. This temple is similar to the first, but I think it was a Buddhist Temple exclusively, so the way to pay respect is slightly different from other temples.
Toshugu Shrine Autumn Grand Festival – Part 2
We had ended up staying longer than expected and were in time for the Parade, and since it is a once in a lifetime opportunity we decided to stay and watch. The parade went on for sometime, with the announcements in English and Japanese, explaining what each group was.
Leaving Nikko…
We then had to catch the 3 trains back to Tokyo from Nikko Station. This didn’t go as well, as we ended up getting on the wrong interconnection, but luckily we ever still on the correct train line, so were able to make it back to Tokyo. From Tokyo, we said good bye to our new Canadian friend and went to Shinjuku Station.
Before leaving the Tobu Asakusa station I found the best information sheet for the entire journey.
Kawaguchiko Bound…
From the station we were able to buy a bus ticket for a bus that was leaving in 15 minutes. We got on the bus and was amazed to see it was fully decorated in a Thomas the Tank Engine theme. We thought this was strange for a bus!
That being said, the bus to Kawaguchiko was a nice and smooth journey on the bus. It was cool to see the bus keep stopping along the way on the highway, which we later realised were bus stops on the side of highways.
From the Bus stop, we were able to walk to our accommodation at K’s House Fuji View, where we were staying in a dorm. It was awesome, as no one else was in the dorm, so we had it all to ourselves.
