Goodbye Kitty

We are now about to leave Japan! I can't believe it's time to go. We have just had our last bowl of ramen and I've bought my last piece of Hello Kitty merchandise...what if I never see Totoro again? Well, we spent a couple of days in Nikko (as recommended by Claire Cox) before returning to Tokyo. Nikko was lovely - nice to get out of the city and into the mountains. It was very peaceful and we stayed in a great establishment... even if we did have to be home by 10pm! We virtually had the place to ourselves - a great advantage when chilling out in the Japanese bath. With its National Park setting, it felt a bit Twin Peaks...except it was devoid of dancing gnomes and everyone spoke forwards (at least I think they did). It is classed as the second most important religious site after Kyoto.

The most elaborate structures were found within the Toshogu shrine. This is the mausoleum of Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun. This feller founded the Tokugawa shogunate and restored peace to Japan for the first time in about 200 years. I believe he had his wife and eldest son killed in the process, but Andy said that this was for the greater good of the country (better watch my step). Built by Ieyesu's grandson, it stands as an opulent final resting place. You enter the temple through a huge stone torii and wind your way through the grounds, encountering a five-storied pagoda and other buildings all very elaborately decorated. It appears to have been heavily influenced by Chinese art, and the detail is outstanding and quite different to the Japanese love of minimalism.

Whilst there was snow on the ground, there was not a cloud in the sky and the warm, sunny weather was a welcome relief. After walking up 201 steps, you reach the mausoleum complex and pass through a wooden cat which everyone was getting very excited about. Something to do with warding off evil...And then, the bit Andy was thrilled about was the See No Evil monkey trio. Rinnoji temple is another very important shrine. Founded by Shodo Shonin in the 8th century, he introduced Buddhism to Nikko. It is home to three pretty impressive gold-laquered statues of Buddhist deities (no photos allowed though).

Then we had a bit of a meander around the town and came across this place (the name evades me) which was a shrine to the souls of lost children. We are generally walking for about 10 hours a day, so to be able to go and have a boiling hot bath was fantastic. It didn't really matter that our curfew was 10pm, as the nightlife of Nikko is non-existent. Being the troopers we are however, we did manage to seek out a great little restaurant and have a couple of well-deserved beers and some tasty noodles.

We would like to thank the following people, who have all made our Japanese experience one to remember.

Firstly, to Alex & Eremi for putting us up for two weeks in Hiroshima and showing us the sights...we had a great time with you both, and the memory of the karaoke will be a lasting one.

Secondly to Yuko Tanaka, our Japanese language teacher. Although we only spent a couple of hours with you doing "Survival Japanese," we found it so useful. Your worksheets have been used constantly! Thanks also for the sake - an essential part of making our freezing cold stay in Kyoto more bearable.


And thanks to Ant, for taking time out of his busy
job as New Dad and meeting us in Shinjuku for our last night. We really enjoyed the rich cultural experience of the English pub (good chips though!). Good luck to him and Yuka with little Angela!

And lastly, a big thanks to everybody who has made us ramen in the last month (especially the grumpy man in Hiroshima for his never-to-be-beaten chilli ramen). A word to the wise - if you are ever asked what chilli-rating you want on a scale of 1-30, don't go for 10...this actually pertains to the number of spoonfuls of chilli oil about to be added to your soup...it even surpassed my abilities. And whatever you do, don't even do near natto. It resembles baked beans with a covering of spider web and it stinks. I believe it's fermented soya beans, but it really should be a banned substance. That aside, everything else about Japan rocks. I'm sobbing into my hankie as I realise we are leaving this great country today.