Nikko: The Marvelous Escapade...

It was a last minute plan. Iryd ym me. Since her sister came to visit Sendai, she wanted to bring her sister for sightseeing. Ym yang telah diedit..hehe.. "Hanis, nak pergi Edo Wonderland, 3 and 4 hb ni?" "Edo Wonderland?" "Jepun zaman dulu, best sgt tgk website dia...jom konvoi, kalau korang join 3 kereta semua." "Ok2 kena bincang dulu nanti update." So i browsed through the web and passed the link to my love... seeing that place we were amazed. It was truly classic, sangat zaman dahulu, they made as if edo period came back to live in this 20 centuries... located at Nikko. I've heard about this place but i've never heard about edo wonderland.

Nikko memang salah satu bandar yang penuh dengan tinggalan sejarah (eceh ayat buku teks). Living in a country rich with culture and histories memang tak boleh lari dari shrine dan jinja. Shrine and jinja ni usually a very old place/ building because zaman dulu ada pengaruh budhha, but according to Mori-san (my lab mate), most japanese now does not have religion, all those places are meant for sightseeing dan mereka sangat suka akan keunikan bangunan,ukiran serta keindahan alam. I just wanted to state that this is the trademark of Japan, bila balik nanti inilah yang boleh dibawa bersama, we don't have a chance to visit eiffel tower old castles, gondolas like those in europes... This is Japan, it's own trademark, oleh itu gunakan sepenuhnya peluang yang ada di sini sebab hanya tempat mcm ni yang boleh dijadikan kenangan kami... (ohh ayat sungguh skima).

Alang2 melawat Nikko, we planned to visit several places, nak cover setakat yang mampu because we only have 2 days. 1 day will be at Edo Wonderland, only 1 day to visit other places around Nikko.

Day 1... the journey to Nikko and a short tour near nikko town

haha tu dia...siap letak map... we took highway from Sendai (up above =A) to Nikko (B). Straight je.. departed around 9.30am. It took us 3 hours plus to arrive there... Nikko is near Tokyo, once in Nikko another 2 hours drive..you can reach Tokyo...

arrived at Nikko city..a very2 small town, tak ada shopping mall pun, just a small supermarket, tapi pelancong merata2 most of them white skin with blonde or burgundy senang cerita orang putih hehe.. our hotel Ohnoya. Actually it's not a hotel, it's a ryokan. This is our first experience stayed at ryokan. Ryokan ni a small inn managed by old couple or just an old lady/man, satu rumah besar tapi byk bilik not much i guess maybe up to 10 (as far as i know, sorry kalau silap info) tido atas futon, bilik ada tatami and so on...totally japan

waiting to check in, malangnya pukul 3 baru boleh check in, so obachan (nenek) cum owner of that place suggest pergi jalan2 kat tasik and waterfall since the weather seems good that day.. tengok bangunan depan jalan tu ala2 english gitu..hehe...sebab ada pokok2...

on the way to the lake...that bridge is called sacred bridge..tatau kenapa but i do love that kind of bridge. Another thing/scenery i love about japan is their bridge, lake and waterfalls, teringat masa tengok kat tv when i was still a little girl, memag suka la bab2 jambatan and tasik2 ni hehe... pantang tengok mesti nak bergambar

little did we know...Nikko is a place located on the mountain...so it was colder compared to Sendai, dah la bawa jaket nipis je..ingtkan turun bawah makin panas mcm tokyo, lepas tu lake and waterfall plak atas bukit.. ohh tidakk...memang sejuk, about 5 degrees...huhu... dah namanya tasik..takkan la atas bukit, yes indeed memang atas bukit huhu..that's the fact...

finally arrived at lake Chuzenji berada pada ketinggian 1269 m... the highest lake i've ever been and it's big too.. a little bit smaller than lake inawashiro af fukushima-ken

it's beautiful...don't you think so? breathtaking view... it's windy, and air nampak berombak2 kecil... nasib baik lawa, terubat sedikit dek kerana menahan kesejukan...

 aishiteru...rasa macam kat port pun ada, that place was calm and peaceful..pelik jugak kenapa tak ramai orang maybe it's still cold and not suitable for a walk...

jalan2 jap and then we got hungry...nak pergi hirugohan (lunch) masa tu dalam proses nak cari kedai makan, that shop looks cool huh... 

we found a reasonable soba shop... dah kenyang..sempat pose sebelum bertolak to the waterfall

very near to the lake..bila sampai sini terkejut..sebab ramai orang..it was so crowded..rupanya semua orang bertumpu kat sini..patut la kat lake tadi tak ada orang.. this waterfall is called Kegon Fall, with the height of 97 m, lepas tu ada lagi fall yang kecik2... nak tengok kegon fall ni kena turun lift setinggi 100 m, which cost us 500 yenper person

yet another beautiful scenery, ...subhanallah.... air terjun kat sini totally different, tak boleh nak mandi manda or pergi tengok up close, tapi bukan boleh mandi pun for sure air sejuk macam ais, kami yang tengok ni pun terpaksa menahan kesejukan, kalau tak tahan masuk souvenir shop duk sebelah heater hehe... 

from above..at first gayat pun ada...

 the green water..so pure...

the rocks around the waterfall..was soo unique..rasa macam tengok gambar dalam national geographic... and the second picture we spot an animal, mungkin kambing gunung.. we didn't know what kind of species was that, elok je dia duk makan rumput kat situ...

Map of Nikko national park...alangkah bestnya kalau boleh cover semua tempat cantik ni, but we don't have much time.. headed to ryokan...it's getting late, nanti tak sempat jamak...

akhirnya boleh beristirehat inside ryokan..as usual, ada tea and okashi...yummy... tapi sngt klasik, look at the mirror and the fridge, my love said, peti ais tu umur 60 tahun huu.. masa tu dah ada peti ais ke love? kalau tunjuk gambar toilet sure pengsan, hehe..acah je... tapi ok je just nice and berpatutan coz ryokan is way cheaper than hotel

our room.bergambar dengan sliding door..suka bila tengok time pasang lampu..romantik... err.. macam tak je.. 

mencari arah qiblat via compass.. after solat, freshen up, rest and tea break my love and i decided to have a little walk towards nikko small town, food hunting...

cute shop...tengok meow tu ajak masuk kedai...

miss flower yang pantang tengok bunga... bonsai sakura..nice...

nampak macam veggi but it also looks like a flower..oleh itu..i called it bunga sayur.. huhu only can see this during end of autumn and during winter...

 headed to the city..rasa macam jauh plak...

tourist information center..tapi dah tutup...osihii mizu, tapi tak minum pun action je, spotted a few, siap ada kolam mini kat eki, pun boleh minum,  it's the spring water from the mountain.. tak tahu sejauh mana ke-oishii-annya.. 

when we arrived in Nikko..asyik nampak "Yuba" di mana-mana... kinda wondered what was it, nasib baik makcik comel tu panggil...."come2..try yuba" wow speaking london.. kellas la makcik ni, i likeee.. yuba is a dish made from soybean, ala2 pau gitu tapi lain sket, we tried versi goreng..ohhh sungguh oishiii harga pun oishii.. beli dua je srg satu cukup, it was quite big, makan 1 tu pun dah kenyang... me like yuba... teringat2 lagi huhu..  thas was the end of day 1, we went back, eat and sleep...

Day 2... Searching for Saru the famous crafted monkey and the marvelous escapade at Edomura

every city has it's on tradeamark, as for Nikko it is Saru.. (monkey) kalau datang musim summer banyak monkey ni berkeliaran because this place is situated inside the jungle, kadang saru2 ni siap berendam onsen lagi... but when we went, semua kerkurung lagi, sejuk..sempat tengok 2,3 ekor je.. sungguh mendamaikan.. and also sejuk..dah la atas bukit dalam hutan plak beku jari-jemari ku ini...

the entrance...i likee...

the famous pagoda..definitely the uniqueness of japan...

the whole place...sagat besar..tak sempat pun nak cover semua..siap kena naik tangga sampai atas..but we didn't go, sejuk..plus not much time...only went to the main spot...

kat batu tu tulis Nikko Yama (yama=hill/mountain)..nampak unik, tapi tak tahu pun apa...macam tong beras pun ada huu...

very old building...doesn't know much about the history...seems like untouched, preserved the originality..

this is the famous crafted saru... semua agama pun menyeru ke arah kebaikan, mesej yang disampaikan oleh pengukir adalah.. "Hear no evil""Speak no evil" and "See no evil" jaga telinga, jaga mulut dan jaga mata.. 

sakura started to bloom... i like those tiang batu yang tersusun tu..cantik...

another entrace..looked at the carving...

sungguh kejepunan...

view from the stairs...

tangan dah beku...my love ajak masuk kereta...and i want a final shot dekat singa tu..and then ada makcik ni went to my love and said "kawaii ne..chotto sasshin" (comel/kiut, nak ambil gambar) haa.... dia tak pernah tengok orang pakai tudung agaknya.. perasan jap, bila aunty tu nak ambil gambar apa lagi..i gave the sweetest smile for her memory.. hehe...

on our way to the car park...

beautiful building... tengok la post office tu..klasiknyer..huhu...
around 10.30 am move on to next destination, about 20 minutes journey...

Edomura a.k.a Edo Wonderland

with su..hopefully it will bring wonder to us...and yes it did...

the ticket counter and the entrance...

with the mascot, Nyanmage (NM)... it was 4,500 yen but since we went by group, we got discount ticket which cost us 3,800 yen..yeayy...

kat sini pun dia dah pakai costume..cooll...

Back to the old days...the edo period...

yeayyy jumpa Nyanmage..sangat comel...look at his finger...rambut pun ninja style...

first we went to ninja house...rumah yang gelap..masa jalan siap pegang tangan..sempit and satu part tu jalan bergiyang..kecoh je semua orang lepas tu..jumpa jalan mati..tatau macam mana nak keluar, rupanya ada pintu tersembunyi..pheww...bila buka pintu tu..full with mirrors...yang mengkonfiuskan for us to find the way out..

sempat posing with my love..thanks su...

lepas keluar rumah ninja jalan2 sekitar tu...ni masuk dalam samurai workshop..penuh dengan so called pedang...etc.. ada shop where we can wear kimono or ninja complete suit etc..and can walk along as if we belong in that period...coolll huh.. but it was a long queue, ramai orang nak pakai and the payment quite expensive too..huhu...

tengok la rambut pakcik tu...macam ni eh..rambut orang zaman dulu...trendy! ada style..hehe..

mr fishy...bila ada sungai ada la jambatan..me love jambatan..apa lagi..hehe..

i like this kind of panoramic view...

wish i can feed those fishes...

kawaiii...

If you see this... you'll know why i wanna take the picture with those chickens.. EDO WONDERLAND totally back to those old times

and then we saw Samurai outdoor live..action packed.. with the hero..ala2 anime gitu.. (cik linda adakah anda terpikat, memikat? hehe) my love holding the samurai sword...

lepas ni ada aksi terjum tower tapi tak sempat snap..khusyuk tengok... 

Grand ninja theater...ada show ninja...

my love with the ninjas...awesome... 

ninja show...not bad..but outdoor live was much more fun..

in front of haunted temple (Jigoku temple)

the surroundings...look..one of the visitors wearing red ninja costume...

with my love... 

yet another bridge...i likeee....

nampak ,acam patung..ramai orang cakap "kakkoi" (good looking) and semua orang pun nak bergambar.. funny pose and hair...kewll... 

look at the crowd..taken from the bridge...

after that we went to yakata boat cruise..wahh suka2....

wonderful experience...

arrival.... we have to pay 500 yen, duit pun letak dalam uncang..macam dulu2.... 

another ride...atas jalan plak...

nice view..sebab tinggi sikit...kesian jugak tengok dia tarik...look his pose with my love..mcm penat kan...

and then we went to house of illusion..rumah senget..nak jalan pun rasa berat sangat...i cannot make it... but my love did manage to go until 2nd floor....awal2 lagi surrender..sangat pening and confused..huhu..

told ya so...rumah senget...

tempat penggambaran pun ada...pantang tengok tasik n batu2 mesti nak pose...so quiet...siap ada props pengambaran dalam one of the houses.. kat sini rupanya buat penggambaran untuk suasana cerita zaman dulu...

another scene..kalau ada penggambaran boleh tumpang sekaki..hehe..

there are a lot of activities for kids as well as adults.. masa ni those kid kena kejar pakcik yang tutup muka tu..i have no idea why...lovely experience for the kids... 

ada banyak show that we missed, because of the timing kalau sampai awal sure banyak boleh cover.. huhu.. sebab nak pusing2 dalam kawasan ni lagi... we have to plan really well.. 

went for tea break..lega boleh minum air panas..it's get colder in the evening..menu yang klasik... banyak betul perkataan klasik...because everything are totally classic.. :)

lepas makan jalan2 nampak kedai gambar costume..apa lagi terus pujuk my love... ohh pahlawan ku.. dressed in samurai suit.. we received 1 photo in a card, obachan tu tak bagi negative pun.. nasib baik dia sudi snap 1 picture using our camera... arigatou obachan..

as for the closing ceremony..Oiran parade..the famous geisha pada waktu itu..look at the wedges..my..my.. i surreder to wear that.. she need to hold onto that man's shoulder to walk..lepas tu jalan pun slow je.. and after that we headed home...alhamdulilah arrived safely.. what a wonderful experienced.. marvelous nikko and i really need that right now... thank you love for bringing me here... aishiteruuuu ...