48 Hours In Nikko, Japan

Day 1

Tokyo ended too soon, however the longing to stay was put aside knowing we were on to the next new and exciting place. Nikko, a small rural village about 2 hours outside of the capital, was waiting to impress with its stunning views and fresh country air.

We stayed in a cute little place by the river called Turtle Inn which had its own private onsen (hot spring bath) and was a short walk from the town centre. After dropping our things in the rooms, we headed out for the day. Our first proper temple visit of the trip was not a disappointment; the Tosho-gu was huge and so detailed and extravagant, every corner you looked. 

The Tosho-gu Temple

We also saw the Three Wise Monkeys: one covers its ears, the second covers its mouth and the last its eyes (which is where the cute emojis come from btw) and climbed the hundreds of steps right to the top shrine.

On the longest stairway I've every walked up!

Prayers

Now starving after our big old walk around the temple, we headed for some food which was delicious as usual. *wishing I was back there* It was late afternoon now so we looked around the town a bit and went to the corner shop to get some Japanese sweets, my favourites being these little apple flavoured jelly things with goo in the middle :) 

Kaoru told us we should go see the Jizo statues which were a short walk from the inn. She told us they are magical and mysterious because there are 99 of them but sometimes one more appears. I just liked them because they wore cute red capes.

Day 2

We began early as the bus we needed to catch was 2 hours long and its hard to get a seat. Somehow we were still late and a long queue was already waiting, however Kaoru used her charm and got us pushed to the front. Just so you know, Kaoru is a 5 foot tall woman who is super sweet so I really don't know how she did it! I got a much needed nap on the journey and was then whisked away to a beautiful waterfall. We walked up the stairs to its side and got an insane view from the top before we were taken away to a huge lake.

Me and Pop

Again the lake was soo pretty and peaceful, I could've stayed there forever.

We got a bus to another lake which was way further up the mountain and had a walk around there. By this time we were incredibly hungry and getting a bit sick of the eggy phosphorous/sulfur smell so we jumped on another bus (after a long walk to find it) back down. After refuelling we headed home and packed up our things, ready for the train in the morning. 

Although fleeting, my time in Nikko was like nothing I've ever experienced. The changing colours of the leaves were somehow so much brighter than in England and the water so clear. Two days was the perfect amount of time to spend there but would recommend three if you want to go at a slower pace!

So, our trip was over halfway through with just one more place to explore...

I hope you're enjoying these travel posts and feel like you've now visited them as well! 

Coco ♡