Our days have continued to be nothing but full, with early starts and long evenings. On our second full day in Tokyo, we allowed for a slow morning and a delicious lunch of Korean fried chicken and bibimbap. Since we were staying the Koreatown part of Tokyo, we figured we should partake in this culture as well.
Then we spent our day shopping and sightseeing a few stationary stores. The shelves in these stores are lined with paper, stickers, and the smoothest pens you’ll ever write with – it’s a cardmaker’s dream.
To start the evening, Asa and I went to B-PUMP Ogikubo rock climbing gym. Always seeing the different route setting and grading style at an international gym is so fun as a climber, we typically see different problems on the climbs than what we do in our home gym. We sent, or completed, a couple of climbs each, but also got stuck on a few too.
After a good climb workout and our arms completely hulked out, we had the amazing opportunity and pleasure of meeting some different Nashville friends out for dinner. They, too, are in Japan the same time as us! Finding a table for seven in Tokyo isn’t the easiest thing, but we found a yakitori restaurant. Was the table outside in the soupy weather of Tokyo – yes, but that’s what a cold draft of Sapporo is for. We enjoyed the company of Deme, Simon, Thip, and Tommy over some delicious yakitori, drinks, and ice cream.
We eventually called it for the night and headed back to our Airbnb, continuing to work on improving our jet lag.
The next morning we took a two and a half hour train ride north of Tokyo to Nikko – known for its mountainous landscapes and historical shrines. We continue to wait for the day for the US to have a decent form of train travel..
An easy trip to Nikko-North station and another hour bus ride into the mountains, we arrive at our destination – Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Waterfalls. Not only are these gorgeous sites to see, but the weather is about 10 degrees cooler and lower humidity – a nice change of pace that is the soup called Tokyo.
We’re very lucky to have a fun-loving friend in Sean. For context to family members, he’s about a 6’3” Iowan man, but he’ll say yes to almost anything. That includes taking a swan pedal boat out on Lake Chuzenji. The three of us decided to squeeze in to a boat, probably made more for two, and ride out across the lake. This turned into a highlight of the trip, especially when we had to pedal for our lives to avoid the triple decker sightseeing boat. For 1800 yen, it was an absolute treat.
After experiencing some nature in the mountains, we took the bus back towards town to the World Heritage Site consisting of multiple shrines, including the Toshogu Shrine – built to honor Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. As much as I try to be the absolute best planner, time escaped us and we miss the opportunity to see inside the shrines, but we could see walk the grounds of the UNESCO site during the golden hour.
We hit about 16,000 steps by the end of the day. From today, the 20,000 steps the day before, and the 14,000 the day before that, our legs were feeling it. One of the incredibly unique, but amazing, aspects of Japanese culture are bathhouses. They allow for community socialization and more importantly for us, relaxation. I waved goodbye to the boys and spent the next hour and a half soaking, sauna-ing, and saying a lot of aaaaaahs…
Like I said, the days are long, but every minute has been giving us memories we’ll always remember. Next up, Hirayu and Takayama!
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