Saturday, August 1, 2009

Japan trip day 5: Tokyo (July 20th, 2009)

(Monday)

We took the Tobu line's Limited Express train to Nikko from Asakusa station. I bought a day pass for bus. We got off the bus to get money at the local post office. We ate lunch in a small restaurant owned by two elderly women. The walls and ceiling of the restaurant were covered with business cards and thank-you notes of past patrons. We had Yakitori (pieces of chicken on wooden skewers), which were very tasty. We then walked to the Toshogu Shrine.

At first we visited the Rinnoji Temple, and we joined a guided tour of a Japanese group. We could not go past them. We then asked directions to the Toshogu Shrine. By the time we reached the shrine both Rena and Shirley were exhausted. Dan did not want to climb the steps to the shrine, so I went up to see the shrine and take some pictures.

We walked downhill from the Toshogu Shrine to the bus station among tall trees. Then we took the bus to the Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa. It is a large structure with many rooms and interior gardens, but devoid of furniture. The floors were covered with mats. We then walked around the villa's garden. The villa has wooden shutters, which are installed at night or inclement weather.

We took the bus back to the train station. There was no room in the express train, so I got tickets for a regular train. We bought some food for the train ride back to Tokyo.

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