We spent a few days up in Nikko, Japan before Christmas this year. Situated 2 hours north of Tokyo and 4 hours away from our house we made our way in our new Mazda MPV (not a new car but new to us) through the entire city of Tokyo and out into the countryside just north of the city. It felt like a completely different world outside of the city. There were rolling hills, mountains in the distance, farms and farmland, and roads that seemed to be a bit wider than where we lived. This was our first real road trip with the kids (not counting our previous adventures into Tokyo) and it felt good. We arrived in Nikko just as the sun was setting. We finally found the hotel that had been recommended to us and were sorely disappointed to find out that it was not only a complete dump but the room was only big enough to fit 5 futons in it. If it weren't for the fact that it was a bit expensive we wouldn't have minded staying there. Lucky for us we saw a really nice hotel just up the road and so we inquired about a room there. It was a bit more expensive but WAY nicer. So we changed plans and stayed there instead. We had a gigantic room with a main tatami room and a smaller living room with half tatami and half carpet. The view from our window overlooked the mountains with a rushing river below. It was spectacular. For dinner we drove down the road and had Ramen and were actually able to park in front of the restaurant (something that is not common in and around Tokyo). Later that night we got all dressed in our Yukatas (bath robe) and headed downstairs to the Onsen (public bath). I took the girls into the women side and Mike took the boys into the men side. I showed the girls how to wash first before getting into the hot onsen. We slowly put our feet into the hot water . It was probably a bit too warm for Abby but she just sat on the edge with her feet in the water. The outside Onsen was neatly decorated in big stones. It was a bit too cold for the girls to sit outside as they would not get in the water any more than their feet so we decided to stay in the inside Onsen. After relaxing we got our robes back on and sat in the massage chairs. We loved that. It turns out that the boys also enjoyed the Onsen with Mike and spent most of their time in the outside Onsen and then in the massage chairs. We all had fun in the Onsen and it was especially nice that we were the only ones in there. That night everyone had a blast sleeping on futons. It was like having a family slumber party.
The next two days were spent sightseeing. First we headed up the mountain to Lake Chuzenji and went to see Kegon Falls. We had a very little walk to see the great veiw of the waterfall. As we headed to take a walk along the lake the kids enjoyed the tiny patches of snow lined along the road. We were prepared for snowy weather and were quite surprised to see that there was not that much snow. As we were walking along Lake Chuzenji we came across the monkeys with the red faces and red butts. We had been told to not feed them and to keep our distance. One of the monkeys (with baby in tow) tried to grab onto Peter's coat but Mike and the kids just backed up and it walked away. I wasn't so lucky. I wanted to get a little closer to get a picture of the monkeys and after feeling like I was a safe distance away I started to take a few pictures. Then the mother monkey leaped forward and starting chasing me. I ran and screamed in the middle of the road and as I was running all I could think about was, "please don't bite me." I was so embarrased that I could hear myself screaming like a little girl. Instead of helping me Mike just kept filming the whole thing. He got a mouth full from me when that was over. Lesson learned--just don't go near the monkeys AT ALL! The kids kept talking about how I got chased by the monkey all day long and by the end of the day I could finally laugh about it.
After eating lunch and feeling recovered from the monkey incident we headed over to Edo Wonderland which is an amazing Ninja outdoor park. We walked into what looked like an old town back in the days of the Samurai and the Ninja. The boys got to throw Ninja stars and even won a Ninja sword. We saw a Ninja fight and Mike got picked to participate in a traditional Japanese play. It was hilarious. We spent some time trying to figure out how to get through the Ninja maze and even ventured over to the House of Illusions and dizzily made our way to the end.
Later that night we headed up the mountains to an amazing restaurant called Misty Mountain. It had the most delicious menu. We were a bit early for dinner and so we were the only ones there. We felt quite spoiled to have all the attention on us. We ate like kings and queens as we devoured our clam chowder, fresh loaves of bread, steak, potatoes, halibut, and sweet, sweet cheesecake!
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