Nikko - Nov 2nd

You might have noticed that I've fast forward a few days, all the way into November. Well, not too much happened; just the usual school stuff, and that's not much to write about. Rina is heading back to the states for a few days, so I gave her my busted hard drive and some postcards for everyone back home. I'll have to think of a wish list of stuff for her to bring back for me...

So, if school is so uninteresting, what's this entry about, you ask? Our second group trip for CSU, to Nikko, is today. We gathered at the rotary at 7:45, since the bus could only stay parked for a very short amount of time. Almost expectedly, Claire was the last person to show, after all of us were on the bus and suggesting we consider her MIA for this trip and enjoy a quiet day in the mountains. We settled in for the long bus ride ahead of us, already irked at Claire's inconsideration and her insistence on using her outside voice on the bus. I think I fell asleep, 'cause the next thing I realized, we were climbing the iroha, the road with 48 turns that leads up the mountain. It's a good thing I don't get carsick.

We stopped at one of the many turns with a small parking lot, and walked towards a shop selling grilled dango and ayu (sweetfish on a stick, cooked over an open flame). Just beyond the shop was the first waterfall of the day. The platform extended out beyond the river, and was almost directly opposite the base of the waterfall. After marvelling just outside the reach of the mist, we climbed a winding staircase up the side of the waterfall, and got to see it from the very top. Feeding the waterfall was a small lake, and we took a few group photos by it. I was tired of relinquishing custody of my camera for the sake of group photos (since about 15 other students would do just that, and by the time the last photo gets taken, everyone is making a very dour face).

We tumbled back down the staircase. Tracey was afraid of falling, and had her hands out and was walking like a penguin, of which I had to take a photo. We returned to the small restaurant at the base of the waterfall, where a few people enjoyed the ayu and dango. We piled back on the bus and continued our way up the mountain. We stopped at two more impressive waterfalls, with an omiyage shop selling all kinds of commemorative trinkets. Outside the shop was a cluster of small cafe tables, and there was an ancient-looking Shitzu leashed to a stone sculpture. It looked like it had been waiting there for a few years.

Finally, we got to a small collection of shops near the tallest waterfall I've ever seen. We were still at least a half mile from the fall, but it was still amazing. We took turns shooting portraits of each other with the waterfall, then went back to the shops to eat. Just as the Matsumoto trip, I didn't bring a bento with me, but this time, there wasn't much to buy in the area, and so I ended up bumming food from Willy, who had brought more than enough with him. Back on the bus, we still haven't reached our real destination yet; Toshogu, the most lavish shrine complex in Japan, and the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Above us was a giant splotch of white-out. The overcast sky was a blinding background for the complex, seemingly secluded in the surrounding forest. Our group moved through the buildings, the decorations getting increasingly elaborate. We finally approached the main gate; without an inch lacking for detail, it was just a taste of what was to come. Every building within the complex was guilded and carved; there was a very definite Chinese influence in the way things were decorated. Just inside the gate there was the famous carving; the famous three monkeys covering their ears, mouth, and eyes. Hear no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil. Opposite the monkeys was a large carving of an elephant, which was done by an artist who had never actually seen an elephant before. It looked like a hippopatomus or water buffalo with a long snout.

We proceeded through another gate, and the decoration was even more impressive than before. In the courtyard, we passed by the group of Oregon students who were also visiting Nikko that day. Walking up to the reknowned Nemuri Neko, the sleeping cat, I was a bit surprised at how small it was. The cat is said to be so life-like that it's the reason there are no rats or mice at the shrine. See for yourself.

We passed under the Nemuri Neko, and returned to the moss-covered simplicity of the past. A huge staircase lay ahead of us, winding further up the mountain and leading to Tokugawa's grave. A small shrine stood in front of the grave, so important visitors could proceed directly to the final resting place of the shogun. The rest of us have to circumnavigate the shrine and walk counter-clockwise around the grave, which is a large, but relatively simple affair. We paid our respects before returning back down the stairs. There was one more small shrine to visit, but photographs weren't allowed inside. It was pretty much more of the same thing, but it was still stunning nonetheless.

We returned to the entrance, and took a photo of a few of us imitating the monkeys before heading back to the bus. I was going to try to use the bathroom, but the smell was so repulsive, several of us turned back at the door. Back on the bus, there was karaoke (with a scoring system), and very little sleep. As the final song, Dr. Shek sang 上を向いて歩こう, and kicked all of our asses with a 92. Teru and I tied for second place with 87, and everyone else scored painfully low. I mean painfully because we had to listen to it.

Finally getting back to baba, through some social maneuvering we managed to ditch Claire. We were going to head to an izakaya, but there was no concensus on what to order. Eventually, we ended up splitting into groups and and eating at various places; myself and a few others decided to have Indian food. Afterwards, we all met up at the Hub to say goodnight, and I walked back home from there, exhausted once again.