Myself, the wife, and a few friends went to Izu-hokawa Japan for a night during Japan’s Golden week (Golden week is a string of holidays that are back-to-back thus giving many a free week-long vacation) and the food at the ryokan was the best I’ve eaten here in Japan (and I’ve had great food here). The sashimi there was to die for but we didn’t go that far. I’ve got a few pictures to share with you if you want to see. Japan is really changing before my eyes, it is more incredibly clean and beautiful (which in Japanese is the same word, kirei). Check the photos as proof.
In previous post filed 10 minutes ago I ranted about he inability to acknowledge the global warming catastrophe that everyone faces. I got worked up and it was great to come across another article that shone a light on a real threat to all American and Europeans alike. In the world of competitive eating we are losing face. When I first arrived in Japan I saw food shows on the TV. The shows were not about cooking or eating but a competition n the presentation of a meal. Now eatng shows are back in full force. People have a read and watch the videos and watch Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi eat like a Conney Island champ that won’t be beaten and the petite Shone eat like they told her that the cure for the worlds problems can be solved by eating rahmen (I agree on that point, delicious). It put a smile on my face I hope it does the same for you.Wired News: Petite Food Fighter Pigs Out
Nikko Japan is a place of natural beauty that will help a person forget about the city, a city such as Tokyo. The place possesses waterfalls, temples, and shrines. Nikko is the last resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu. From NewsonJapan.com:
“The Toshogu Shrine was built for Tokugawa Ieyasu after his death. It contains the mausoleum of Ieyasu who is one of the most important figures in Japanese history, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate that lasted for over 250 years until 1867.”
This was the time that Japan had closed itself from the world. This shrine is also the birthplace of the 3 monkeys, See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil. What follows is the not so positive view of a positive thinking American living in Tokyo.
There are two ways to get to Nikko, one is on the JR which involves a switch to the local trains or with the Tobu lines from Asakusa which offers direct service to Nikko. The Tobu comes in two different flavors, the special Kegon at 2,740 ¥ or the Standard at 1320 ¥. If your 184 cm or taller I highly recommend the Kegon. We got there late and took the Standard and I suffered 2 hours of real discomfort. We knew better for the return trip and took the Kegon, dirty but better comfort. After a mediocre overpriced lunch it was time to wait for the bus. After an hour it was finally time to go. We wanted to go to the Keigo falls which turned into a 2 1/2 hour uncomfortable bus ride. Again the seats were not set up for someone tall so discomfort was the theme for the day. The falls were a treat to see but that all we got to see with the bus trip and the waiting for the bus taking 5 hours of our day there wasnt time to see anything else. As beautiful as this place is I do not recommend a trip there. If you are planning a trip there be forewarned; this place is all about the contents of your wallet. They don’t try to give you value for those contents. Everything had a sticker price that was comparable in price to a price in Tokyo, sometimes more. I don’t want to describe a trip to the inner ring of hell. It wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t that good either. This review had a few things to say and they weren’t all nice. The bus would be a great way to get around if it was convenient to get around the place. It’s not. Here we are waiting for the bus for over an hour in the cold.
I know this review is light on details but if you can’t say anything nice… See it once and never again is my recommendation for a trip to Nikko. Here are a few pictures to remind me of the misadventure spending a day there was.
