Nikko is Nippon (2)

Hey there! Merry Christmas to you all! we were still here in Nikko, and we were so eager to see what's out there in this historical small town surrounded by huge mountains and lakes!

Without further ado, we had made up our mind to visit both sides of Nikko, the National Park zone, and the World Heritage zone. Starting with a sightseeing tour to "Kegon Waterfall" The fall which is ranked as one of Japan's three most beautiful falls. So heading to our first observatory point, the bus took us to Akechidaira rope way where we were informed by local officer that the rope way unfortunately stopped operating today due to the strong wind and bad visibility! Arghh bad luck!

Well...It was not a totally "bad bad weather" as we also, for the very first time, got to witness the first snowfall ever in our trip! And to say that it was on Christmas Day will only make this event far more magical and infectiously romantic! If only I could have "someone" <*sigh*>... Hahahaha okay, let me drop it here!

Btw, my point was to narrate the spectacular scene of "frozen Kegon Fall" Yeahhh since most part of the fall were under the icy condition, I assume you could picture how bad we were in trouble in dealing with this bittering cold there! Honestly, I only managed to stay at observatory deck for 15 min! before my exposed skin turned to a complete numb. Special thanks to my newly purchased gloves, bought on sight at souvenir shop there! Goshhhh they actually saved my life LOL! So...my advice for those who like to see this fall, the best season would be during autumn as you may as well be able to see the leave foliage along with this famous fall! If you happen to visit this place during winter like my case, be mindful of the clothes you put on! otherwise, you might end up being almost froze to death like me hahaha.

By the time we finished roaming around Kegon Fall, other tourists apparently had already headed down the mount, and left this isolated village around the fall in an eerie silent! The only sound that filled the atmosphere around us surprisingly turned out to be "the snowfall sound"! It was AMAZING!! and totally made my day! We also stopped by at some local restaurants where we had the best Miso Soup ever!! You should seriously have this soup especially during winter, as it truly soothes your ached cold body!

If only I had more time, I would definitely love to explore some other

natural attraction spots; like Lake Chezenji, Yumoto Onsen, and Ryuzu waterfall. Let me jot these names down, and probably I will be back again this autumn hahaha

Moving on to our next destination, we hopped on the bus which took us to World Heritage zone area. The highlight of this zone is of course the Toshugu Shrine. The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. My first impression of this place was the obviously unique architectural style which stands out from most Japanese shrines I have seen.

The shrine itself was in a very good condition considering the period they have been through...since before 1600's I think... Although I rarely knew the origin of this place, I really enjoyed my tour around the shrine just by looking and experiencing new things. I coincidentally joined the traditional ritual ceremony held in one of the temples there, like the monks were reading something to people attending this ceremony, and it was very blessing, overwhelming feeling! Well at least...I like to think that what the monks said was a bless, cuz I don't know sure as it was Japanese Hahahaha I'm blessed anyway!

So...apart from Toshugu Shrine, we also visited surrounding areas like Taiyuinbyo, Rinnoji Temple, Futarasan Shrine, Botanic garden, and of course the famous Shinkyo Bridge (again for me) Haha!

By the way, once we've done with Nikko, we took Shinkansen bound back to Tokyo!! No... we didn't missed the train, nor were we lost again! Hahaha we've apparently studied well this time LOL! Anyway, we managed to meet with Natsumi again this evening, and she took us to her house where we would be staying there for the next 4 nights. So generous of you, Natsu! Thank you!