Nikko & Utsunomiya

Sorry for the lack of updates! Over the weekend, I visited Nikko and Utsunomiya, located in Tochigi. Three hours by car, Nikko is a historical tourist spot with many temples and ancient relics. There are numerous waterfalls, a huge park, and a variety of historical sites, such as the resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The picture above is pretty famous, too--the origin of the phrase "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." Known as mizaru, it is a carving located on the Toshogu Shrine inner walls. It is part of a series of carvings about the lives of simple monkeys. I had never stopped to think that the phrase must have come from somewhere.




We also visited a number of historical sites in Utsunomiya. The picture above shows a number of stone coffins built into the hills outside the city limits. These holes once held the ancient corpses of the dead. When they were opened, the corpses were removed and replaced with stone Buddha statues.



I had the misfortune of choosing a weekend when it snowed, so my feet were constantly soaking wet with slush. We stayed at a nice little guesthouse in Nikko, owned by a Japanese couple who spoke intermediate English. It was cozy, although the walls were paper-thin. Utsunomiya is more like a city, full of department stores and train stations. There are only three Starbucks in Fukushima, according to my friend, so we jumped at the opportunity to grab some mochas when we visited this city.



The last stop on our two-day holiday was the famous Min-min gyoza restaurant in Utsunomiya. We visited the original store, standing in line outside until there was enough room to enter and find seats. I found it akin to my visit to the original Starbucks in Seattle, Washington. Line outside, not much to look at inside, mostly there for the ambiance. But I have to admit those were the best gyoza I'd ever eaten. I need to learn how to make gyoza myself.

This was my last big trip in Japan until I return to Tokyo to catch my plane for America. From now on, I'll be keeping a low profile. Travel is expensive in Japan, even in the countryside. But I'm glad I was able to bask in the warm glow of Japanese culture for even a couple of days.