Nikko, part 2
Sunday 2004-11-07
The lake has lots of paddle boats that look like swans. We rent a boat and paddle to the middle of the lake and back. Tamiko and I do the paddling and Saori steers the boat. After that we board a large boat for a one hour tour of the entire lake. Then it's back on the bus to Nikko train station. The drive down from the mountain is amazing. It is literally hairpin curves all the way down the mountain. There are something like 64 hairpin curves. Once down at the station we stash our stuff in a locker and grab some lunch. Then it's off to the Toshogu Shrine. Wow, what a place! It's a very beautiful collection of shrines and temples. We finally leave Toshogu as it's getting dark (about 5pm). We arrive back in Tokyo at about 8pm and head out for dinner. Saori finds a nice restaurant in the Asakusa area of Tokyo. It's the kind of restaurant where you cook your meal on a grill at your table. Yum! After dinner we walk the streets of Asakusa to my ryokan and say good night. A very good weekend!