Back in Tokyo, I decided to head out to Nikko. This is a town famous for its ancient monuments which have been given World Heritage Sites status.
The trip out involved a Shinkansen to Utsunomiya, followed by a slow JR train to Nikko. There is another operated by a rival company on that line. This seems really odd. Most of the people on the JR train seemed to be foreigners with JR passes, probably the only time foreigners outnumbered the locals on the whole of my trip.
The local train passed through a rural area. As well as fields for rice and other crops, there were also a number of area covered in solar panels. This is common. There are also a lot on panels on farm houses and barns. There aren’t as many as you see in Germany, but there are a lot.
Lots of temples
I decided to walk from the station up to the temples. You pass a red bridge which is apparently one of the most photographed in Japan. It is a reconstruction of the 17th century original
The temple and shrine complex is vast and is on one hill side on a hill overlooking the town. It is long way to the very top shrine. The oldest building dates back to the 1600’s
Capsule
Back in my hostel in Tokyo, I had to move into a Capsule. That was a bit of an experience. My neighbour, a rather friendly Italian woman, said that it “was like being in coffin and was lots of fun”. Now that’s an interesting concept.
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