It's Shinkansen Time!
I was very proud of the lunch I bought...
... until I saw the one of my neighbour!
In Nikko I stayed at the Park Lodge. It wasnt couchsurfing, but it did feel like you were at somebodies home. It is normally run by Zen monks (now unavailable) and I even got a chance to participate in 7 am Yoga classes!
Keren en Liron (and Cheesecake) crazy fun Israelian girls who joined me for the Nikko Rain Adventure the next day. They told me loads of things about life in Israel, including army duty for girls.
DEER! OHMYGOD GET THE CAMERAA!
Look! a flock of chinese tourists who got from one sightseeing spot to the next by comfy warm tourbus.
The famous 'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' monkies.
And I swear, my sister can make this EXACT FACE. Next time you see her, please ask for a demonstration.
NON. STOP. Not even a 5 minute break, it just kept pouring and pouring.
After a 30 min walk we reached the mysterious path with the stone buddhas, next to a very loud and wild river.
Go crazy trio!. Oh and look at those soaked pants.. after a while, the water in your socks warms up from your body heat so it isnt that bad anymore. We were so hardcore.
See? I'm not the only person stupid enough to conquer the Wild with All stars. So many shoes drying at the fire place. It feels really nice to only concern yourself with the basics, like: will my shoes be dry for tomorrow? how does the heater in my room work? When is dinner?
Next I tried the special Vegan Zen meal, huuge and very taste.
Tofu steak (?) and mushrooms.
Beer and israel card cames.
and OF COURSE the weather is gorgeous when youre LEAVING!
But a very nice day for the Plum blossom festival in Mito.
Old guys, I love this picture :)
The japanese wouldnt even think of celebrating a day out without FOOD.
They also sell so many souvenirs, including this bizarre salty pink blossom tea, with tiny pieces of gold leaf in it! Not so tasty however...
Ok this was my 3rd saturday night out in Shibuya.. without company! So my strategy was the following: 1) look for nice looking group of Gaijin, preferably a bit drunk already. 2) ask casually for directions to x and mention along the way that youre alone and bored. 3) Wait 20 seconds. 4) Get invited to tag along!!
Turned out they met up an hour ago as well. International gang GO! Brazil, Ireland, Canada and Argentina? Drinking and dancing till the last train, and then.. getting a spontaneous couch invitation!!
Shiori even gave me this awesome tatami MOUSE pad! We had such a relaxed time at her cozy place.
She even made me breakfast!
Big Thank you! Single girls go go!
Ever seen a Pilgrim on the Shinkansen?
So the train going south along the east coast of the penninsula even had special window facing seats! For better views of the sea, such a very typical Japanes thing to actually develope a train like this.
Finally arrived at Shimoda, quiet and historic town famous for the place where the americans demanded acces to isolated Japan of the 18th century. They called it the 'Black ships' and the whole thing was pretty embarrassing.
Full moon and a lonely fisherman.
There was also a pretty cool museum about the first contact with Americans!
The whole town seems to date from the 60ies, including the nighlife... surprisingly i found a very cool design restaurant, with a Japanese traditional/retro US/china antique interior mix.
So fish and chips can also look like this!
First one of my Minshuku experiences: cheap and dating somewhere from the 50ies.. at night the hallway light broke and it was pretty creepy going to the bathroom... EVERY sliding door was creaking and rattling.
Early in the morning, a whole bunch of men working on the cables. Like birds!
Next stop was the tiny village of Matsuzaki, in the middle of ricefields.
My second romantic bike adenture, this time with Sakura. Was lovely to just bike through the village and the fields, great sense of freedom. (and.. there is practically nothing else to do...!)
Famous local school building, mix of japanese and western colonial architecture.
The 'Youth Hostel', with a brilliant garden and lovely antique buildings. The whole place had laundry and slippers everywhere, very strong reminder of my grandfathers house in Surabaya.
They call it youthhostel, but I had a giaant private room! and tv! And what a view!
The local speciality.
The lovely hostess! First person i met who really did not speak a single word of English. But somehow we managed to make a reservation through the telephone, so kudos to us. The cashregister was definitely from the 1900's.
The front gate in the morning.
"The Hills are aliiiveee!..."
Next: Dogashima, a bit more north. With the beautiful weather it reminded me a lot of Italy. Was great to smell the sea again.
Prooof.
There is even a famous onsen right next to the sea. Too bad it was closed.
But, I sneaked in anyway just to take a picture. Must be great to just soak here and watch the sunset...
Getting closer to mt. Fuji...
Final stop here was the town of Shuzen-ji, famous for spas and a whole lot of historic persons who were murdered here, (including one who was assasinated while he was bathing IN a spa.)
This is how the rustic little river looks like under construction.
The most famous local temple, founded by the monk who introduced Buddhism from China in the 8th century.
All the cliches about the softly floating petals of Sakura are true. It is a very pure and relaxing sight.
So many birds eat the nectar from the flowers, sometimes even upside down.
yeah, I'm pretty happy with this camera too :)
Finally: a midrange ryokan. This is comparible with a 3 star hotel I think, with a room that could fit 8 people and not only one, but two onsen for guests.
All these types of hotels serve free tea in beautiful sets, which I complement just fine with my cheapass food.
You get not only a yukata but also a sort of woolen jacket to wear indoors.
My attempt to photograph one of the onsen...
And the front gate. (about 70 euro for one night.)
And then the moment supreme: taking a milion small trainconnections trying to get closer to Fuji-san.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
I hired another bike to go around one of the 5 famous Fuji Lakes.
You have no idea how much stress it takes to race to the mountain before the weather gets bad, constantly checking the sky and missing connections etc.. But the reward was worth it!
And another bike-in-action pic. After 6 hours of trains, running, waiting and biking, I can say it was definitely a quest to get here, but absolutely rewarding. Next stop: Nara. See you !
