18 February 2013, Monday
After spending the past four nights in Tokyo, it was time to head to Nikko, a town about 150km north of the Japanese capital. At 7am, I woke up, did my final packing and checked out of my hostel. I then walked to Asakusa station to catch the Tobu Nikko train.
On my first day of arrival in Tokyo, I had already purchased my All Nikko Pass for JPY 4,400 (S$60). The pass is valid for four days and includes return train rides to Nikko as well as unlimited bus rides within the Nikko area.
At 8:10am, the train departed promptly from Asakusa station. It was a gloomy and overcast morning. As the train wound its way up north, I spent the time writing my journal, capturing my thoughts of the past few days. Once I got bored, I put on my earphones and plugged in to my favourite music, watching the world sweep by. This is my favourite part about travelling on trains.
Right on schedule at 10:18am, the train pulled in to Tobu-Nikko station. As I exited, I was hit with a blast of crisp, cold air. The ground was covered in white and I felt light snow flakes falling onto my face. I was so happy and excited because I wasn’t expecting it to snow! Coming from a tropical country, it isn’t every day that I get to experience snow so it was definitely a novelty to me.
From the train station, I caught a local bus and alighted five stops later at Shinkyo. From there, it was a short walk to my accommodation, Nikkorisou Backpackers (click here), located at 1107 Kamihatsuishimachi. When I arrived at 11am, it was way before before the official check-in time of 4pm. Hence, I left my bags at the lobby area and proceeded to explore Lake Chuzenji and Yumoto Onsen, before coming back again at night.
Nikkorisou is located very close to Shinkyo Bridge, one of the landmarks of Nikko. The name Shinkyo means “sacred”, and the bright red bridge stands at the entrance to Nikko’s shrines and temples. It is ranked one of Japan’s three finest bridges, alongside Kintaikyo and Saruhashi.
Shinkyo Bridge spans over the Daiya River, with the surrounding hills and cliffside trees providing a stunning backdrop. The current bridge was constructed in 1636 and underwent renovations in the late 1990s. You can pay a fee to walk across the historic bridge, but I did not do so.
At 11:43am, I boarded bus number 7 from Shinkyo and arrived at Chuzenji Onsen Bus Terminal about 45 minutes later. Lake Chuzenji is located at the foot of Mount Nantai, Nikko’s sacred volcano. An eruption 20,000 years ago blocked the valley below and created Lake Chuzenji. The altitude here is 1,269m, higher than Nikko’s 538m, so it is correspondingly colder here too. I later saw that the thermostat reading was 2 degrees Celsius.
Chuzenji Onsen is the small town located at the eastern end of Lake Chuzenji. It was very quiet and quaint when I visited, with just a few shops lined up on one side of the main road. As I walked towards my first destination, Kegon Falls, I passed by the Nikko Natural Science Museum but I did not visit it.
The snow here was even thicker than that at Nikko. However, it was very clean, fine and powdery, just like my vision of winter wonderland. I loved it! I also saw a man who was busy shovelling snow from the pathway. I had never seen so much snow before, it was amazing.
Soon, I caught sight of Kegon Falls. You can actually view the 97m tall waterfall for free as you approach the ticket office, or from the upper observation platform. However, I decided to pay JPY 530 (S$7.20) to take the elevator down to the lower observation platform. The elevator descends 100m and ride takes 60 seconds.
Unfortunately for me, when I was at the base of the waterfall, a blanket of fog rolled in and obscured my view. I could barely see anything. It was so cold that some parts of the waterfall had frozen. I managed to see the basalt columns near the waterfall, which gave credence to the fact that this is a volcanic area, because basalt columns are formed from cooling lava.
After about ten minutes of hazy vision, I took the elevator up again. When I reached the upper observation platform, the fog lifted briefly and I could see a bit more of the falls. However, the fog rolled back soon after. It would be better to come in autumn when the weather is clear to catch one of the top three waterfalls in Japan.
After that, I walked back to the main road, where I had a simple lunch at one of the restaurants there. Options were limited so I just picked a random one. My katsu don wasn’t super appetising but I appreciated having a hot meal in the blistering cold.
After lunch, I went to take a look at Lake Chuzenji. It is quite a massive lake, with a circumference of 25km. Many paddle boats lay abandoned by the lakeside as everything was put into hibernation mode during winter. Once again, autumn will be a much better time to visit, with the trees from the surrounding mountains providing a beautiful backdrop for the lake. By this time, the snow had turned into a drizzle, so I struggled to keep my camera lens dry while juggling with my umbrella.
At 2:30pm, I caught a bus to my next destination, Yumoto Onsen, located about 13km away. The bus ride took 35 minutes. Yumoto Onsen is a small hot spring town that is also part of Nikko National Park. The town is located next to Lake Yunoko and it consists mainly of ryokans, or traditional Japanese inns with hot spring baths.
At an elevation of 1,475m, it was even more snowed out here and it was totally deserted. I loved it the moment I set foot here. It was very cold and the snow was falling heavily. The roads and trees were all covered in thick snow, creating a blanket of white. I didn’t see anyone around and I didn’t really have a clue where to go, so I wandered around aimlessly.
I soon reached the hot spring temple but I didn’t see any sign of the temple building. Perhaps it was closed or I must have missed it. I continued walking along the pathway and reached what was supposed to be a marsh. However, it was all covered with snow so I couldn’t see anything notable besides a pond. Nevertheless, the entire experience in itself was magical to me.
I stood there in silence for a few moments, letting the snow fall on my outstretched hand while taking in the view before me. To my surprise, a Japanese lady suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She was super friendly and nice. She was out for a walk so we helped each other take some photos. This was my favourite moment from the trip and I’m glad I have a photo to remember it.
At about 3:45pm, I decided to escape from the cold by popping in to Okunikko Yumoto Onsen Yumori Kamaya (click here) for a soak in the hot spring. Yumori Kamaya is a longstanding ryokan established for over 240 years. Even though I was not a guest at the ryokan, I was able to pay a fee to use the onsen.
The onsen was totally deserted when I visited so I had the whole place to myself. There was a large indoor bath and a smaller open-air bath. The milky white water flows directly from the source (the marsh I visited earlier) and it is said to contain twice as much metasilicic acid, a natural moisturiser.
After being out in the numbing cold for a day, it was pure bliss to soak in the hot spring while watching snowflakes fall and disappear upon hitting the water’s surface. After soaking for an hour, I reluctantly got out of the water and dressed myself, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
At 5:20pm, I caught a bus back to Nikko, arriving almost an hour later. As it was winter, the sky was already dark by that time and most of the shops were already closed. I chanced upon an eatery called Hippari-Dako, which was the only one that was still open. It turned out to be a great choice and I later found out that it was listed in Lonely Planet.
I got quite a shock when I entered the restaurant. The interior was completely filled with notes and memorabilia pinned to the walls, left behind by the hundreds of tourists who had visited the restaurant. Every inch of the interior was covered, even the ceiling. I saw currency notes from Mexico, entrance tickets, name cards, drawings and thank-you notes. It was quite mind-blowing.
I was the only guest and I wasn’t sure whether there was any food left for me. Thankfully, the elderly couple who ran the restaurant told me that ramen and gyoza were still available. Perhaps I was hungry after a long day of exploring and being out in the cold, but the food was especially delicious.
After dinner, I walked a short distance back to Nikkorisou Backpackers. I was glad to see that there were three other travellers hanging out in the common area at this time, making the atmosphere homelier. I checked in to my cosy little room, which cost JPY 3,500 for one person a night, plus an additional charge of JPY 300 during winter season (November to April), so it amounted to JPY 3,800 (S$51.70) altogether. It was supposed to be a dorm room for three but I was the only occupant, so I had the whole room to myself.
Nikkorisou is run by a young Japanese couple who also live in the house. They are very artistic and they placed many handwritten signs with cute illustrations all over the house. They also drew maps with useful information in English about food options, transport and attractions in the area. I loved the human touch, making the place feel more warm and welcoming.
I took another nice hot shower, then lay in bed to unwind after a long and fulfilling day. Even though it was so cold and sometimes even wet, I had the most amazing time ever. I hope to return in the autumn someday, to witness Nikko in all its splendid glory.