Nikko

I wasn't feeling so hot last week (snuffly nose, sore throat, headaches), so I decided to head out of Tokyo for the weekend. I took the train up to Nikko, a spot that's quite famous for its shrines. There are also some good hikes one can do in the area, too. After deciding to go, I hopped online to check out lodging and found a place for 4000 yen per night (quite cheap considering lots of places make solo travellers pay a single supplement, if not double, for accommodation). When I arrived, I knew it would be a good place to stay:

Nikko Park Lodge

I did, indeed go hiking, but because I ended up on the wrong bus (if there is a wrong bus I'm sure to get on it...every time it seems), I didn't get to the start of the hike until 1:00 pm. The hike started at a shrine, and the caretakers didn't seem to want me to start going up the trail. I think this was because the shrine closed at 5:00 pm and the hike up to the top of Mount Nantai takes about 5 1/2 hours. I paid the 500 yen, though, and started up. The trail was steep and slippery in spots, and I didn't make it up to the top. But it was a nice hike. I made it back to the bottom shrine just before 5:00 and hopped on the right bus back into town.

I spent the next morning shuffling around the shrine district (which is a UNESCO World Heritage site). It was nice to leave Tokyo, if even for only a few days. My next trip will be next weekend when a colleague and I hike up Mount Fuji (a 5000 foot elevation gain!).

lanterns

A shrine to the God of Sanrio: Kerokeroppi

A jizosama which is said to protect the souls of dead babies.

Scene from a Japanese garden

2nd scene from a Japanese garden

Detail from a gate at one of the shrines

Morning photos

On my way in to work this morning, I snapped a few photos while I was crossing campus. I thought I'd share...

There are people who come around during the day and straighten up bikes that are out of order. These bikes will be neatly rearranged by lunch.

The 'secret' raspberry bush that everyone knows about is absolutely dripping with lovely berries.

We have a stone fountain out in front of our building.

I think it's mostly the exchange students who play at the magnetic poetry wall, but at least it gets used.

I Miss the Desert

After an unexpected trip back to the US, I am back in Japan and incredibly glad I was able to make the quick trip (even though the circumstances requiring my trip home were not circumstances I would ever have wished to travel under). Despite the reason for going home, I did manage to enjoy some of the simple things I can’t do here like firing up the BBQ. One of my favorite foods to grill is pizza (it‘s very easy, very quick, and very delicious). The night before I left I forwent going out for dinner and a movie (Kim Son and Prairie Home Companion) so I could stay home and ‘Q us up some pizzas. It was an excellent decision although dough with only whole wheat flour doesn’t rise as well as a white/wheat blend.

I also had the time to get my hands real orange juice. ‘Real’ meaning juice that tastes like it actually comes from oranges (like Odwalla) and not from oranges that taste like they’ve run a marathon and sweated out all the sweetness (like Tropicana). Why isn’t real OJ available in Japan? I don’t know. It’s as hard to find as a good breakfast out in a restaurant (meaning it’s not available, period).

And of course, the light-as-a-feather, dry desert air does wonders in clearing out the mold from my head that the wet, heavy Japanese air encourages. That said, I stepped off the plane in Narita smack into the rainy season. It’s gray, it’s gloomy, it’s wet, really wet. Take, for example, Friday: I walked to work…in the rain…whose sheer volume was more than that of my shower that morning. I wasn’t out of the house five minutes and I was soaked. My shoes didn’t dry for two days. When I arrived at work and stripped off my rain jacket, only the tops of my shoulders were dry. Water had been drawn up from my shorts and into my t-shirt, spreading up my back nearly to my collar. I had walked in with a raincoat AND umbrella.

I miss the desert.