We woke up really early, 5.30am to be exact, to take the subway from Ikekuburo to Asakusa station. From Asakusa, we planned to catch the 7.15am train to Nikko on the Tobu line. It was a two hour ride to Nikko via the Rapid train (two and a half if you took the non-Rapid) and it cost us 1320¥ per person, one way.
There is a special All-Nikko pass you can buy too (4,400¥) but we chose to rent a car with our friends instead. It cost us about 9000¥ to rent the Prius Hybrid for a day, and I heard it only costs 2000¥ to extend it another day.
With more people, a car is more worth it, and you get to see things on your own terms. Nikko has a theme park, temples and shrines, and waterfalls and shrines. We only had one day, ideally you should spend two days here, so we focused on the nature side of Nikko.
We also visited the Kanmangafuchi Abyss, with its fascinating Jizu statues. My friend said if you counted them on the way in, and then counted them again on the way out, it would not be the same number. That creeped me out a little.
The waterfalls and lakes in Nikko are to die for. I am told it is even lovelier here in autumn, when the leaves turn a colourful red, yellow and orange. We didn't pay to cross Shinkyo Bridge but took some photos of it. It is just next to the road so that took away some of the mystique.
We enjoying trekking through the forests and enjoying the cool air. It was a perfect day, sunny but not hot, cool but no cold winds. Lake Chuzenji was gorgeous.
I think it was one of the highlights of our trip to Tokyo so far. It was a lovely change to see this side of Japan, instead of just tall buildings and crowds. I think I like the nature side of Japan more.
