Nikko . Day 3

We woke up to quite a downpour outside so we just lounged around inside our room for most of the morning.  The kids enjoyed watching Japanese TV and Mike and I enjoyed relaxing.  When the rain finally stopped we gathered our things and checked out of our hotel.  We walked across the street and headed up to the Toshogu Shrine.  It was still a little misty but far better than it had been earlier in the morning.  We prepped the kids with how we were to behave inside the shrine areas and headed up to the entrance with our tickets in hand.  Unfortunately this Shrine cost money to enter.  We saw the See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil monkeys and lots of cool golden laden Shrines and Gates.  We were able to actually go inside 3 of the shrine temples after removing our shoes of course.  It was neat to see what was inside the temples.  We even witnessed a small prayer ceremony in a small room of one of the shrines.  We weren't supposed to take pictures or videos inside the temples but I saw Mike trying to sneak a video with his iPhone.  One of the shrines had us walk up an exorbitant amount of stairs to an upper shrine.  We had such a great view of the entire shrine area as we hiked up all those stairs.  Abby wanted to walk the entire way but eventually realized that she was indeed tired and put her arms up to be carried.  After getting our fill of shrines for the day we headed back to our car.  On the way back we got to see one of the temple workers ring the big gong with a huge log attached to a big rope.  It was quite loud but very fascinating.  Of course I think shrines are just fascinating.  There were some mixed feelings about spending so much time viewing the shrines earlier in the morning from some of our younger company but I think by the end everyone agreed that shrines really are neat.

Shinto shrines have braided rope hung above the altar and sell talismans to protect the home, for success in study, to wish for something and so on. Shinto shrines also hang up Ema - wooden blocks with a picture of kami (a god) on one side. A wish is written on the other side and the ema is hung on the racks provided. The ema are ritually collected and burned as an offering.

A little history about Shrines and Shintoism:

Shintoism is not based on the teachings of someone but rather promotes devotion to the Imperial family and veneration of the gods. It is believed that the Emperor is a direct descendant of the goddess, Amaterasu. Amaterasu is believed to be the daughter of two 'kami' (gods) who created the islands of Japan and many other stories about various gods are told. The overriding principle of kami though is to protect and sustain life.

Shinto shrines do not often have pictures of gods but rather something symbolic such as a mirror, sword or beads. Shrines are called miya (important house) or yashiro. The mirror symbol stems from a legend that Amaterasu gave a mirror to her grandson when she sent him to earth to become the first Emperor and told him to look into the mirror as he would look into the face of Amaterasu. The mirror has now become one of the most venerated items in Shinto.

Shrines are usually designed so that you approach over water by a bridge and the roof of the shrine is thatched with cypress. A red gate made by two large logs for edges and a wooden top to join them symbolises the sacred areas and leads to the shrine itself. Following a path will bring you to a place with a ladle and water to wash your hands and rinse your mouth before entering the shrine proper. The shrine is guarded by two stone statues that look half dog, half lion.

Rather than sin, Shinto is concerned with purity and cleanliness so Shinto priests often perform rites of cleansing on building sites and so on and the 'washing' with the water when one approaches a shrine is essential. Shinto is also concerned with peace and it is common to see doves in the grounds. One of the most important aspects of Shinto is fostering harmony and this practice spills over into daily life and into many of the traditional Japanese art forms and martial arts.

A little history about the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko:

The Toshogu Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Nikko and is dedicated to the kami (spirit) of Ieyasu (d. 1616), who founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, a military dynasty that ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867.  To create a worthy shrine for the shogun, 15,000 craftsman worked for two years, using 2.5 million sheets of gold leaf. The enshrinement of Ieyasu's spirit is reenacted twice each year in the Procession of the Thousand Warriors.

Unlike most Shinto shrines which are characterized by minimalist architecture that blends into its surroundings, Toshogu is a riot of color, gold, and carvings, with birds and flowers, dancing maidens, and sages following one another around the buildings

One of the most famous elements of Toshogu is the Sacred Stable, where a white imperial horse is kept (a gift of New Zealand). The stable's fame derives from the original carving depicting the three wise monkeys, "Hear no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil." Other famous carvings at Toshogu include a sleeping cat and an odd rendering of an elephant by an artist who had apparently never seen one.

Although a Shinto shrine, Toshogo contains several Buddhist elements. Next to the entrance gate is a five-story pagoda in red and gold, and beyond it is the formal entryway flanked with the Two Deva Kings. A Buddhist library with over 7,000 scrolls of sacred texts is contained in a revolving case, which can be turned in order to effect the equivalent of praying all the texts.

Nikko . Days 1 and 2

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!