Brad and I took the opportunity to take a mini-vacation over Memorial Day weekend. Since we are both from Florida nothing sounds more like vacation than the mountains. So off to Nikko we went. Nestled in the foothills of some mountain range Nikko also has Japan's most ornate shrine and an amusement park dedicated to old time Japan complete with Ninjas and Samurai. Perfect.
Toshogu Shrine, a conglomeration of several shrines and temples was built in 1617 and dedicated to the shogunate Tokugawa who unified Japan. It was our first stop and perhaps too ambitious for three kids who had been in the car for 3 hours. If we ever go back we will definitely take a guided tour because the English signs were almost nonexistent and we weren't really sure what we were looking at. Although I had a guidebook with me if I had actually stopped to read it we would have found Lucien and Jude hanging from a priceless building and Anders being abducted by a smitten Japanese woman.
Set of stairs leading to shrine area. Followed by many more sets of stairs. Anders loves nothing more to climb so he was in baby heaven. Unfortunately Anders had to be held the whole time because clearly a stroller was out of the question. I did see someone in a wheelchair who must have very nice friends to carry him up.
Enormous tori gates leading up to the shrines.
Once the kids were thoroughly exhausted we drove into town and found our inn. Finding a kid-friendly and affordable hotel is quite a feat. Most places charge per person and are just not suitable for small children. The Turtle Inn Annex came highly recommended in my guide book for families and wasn't going to bankrupt us so it was the winner. This was our first experience staying in a Japanese style inn. And what an experience. We all slept on the floor and the only window treatments were sliding rice paper screens one of which I poked my thumb through trying to open it. The boys slept in another room separated by a sliding door. Except for Anders who decided that he was not going to sleep at this hotel. Each person has two 1" thick mattresses topped with a down quilt and a dense hard pillows all set on tatami mats. Both of the rooms had a small view of the river which was right outside. Brad likened it to taking a nap under his desk at work when can't get home to sleep. Lucien and Jude thought sleeping on the floor was rather cool. It also kept me from having to yell at them from jumping on the beds which is their favorite hotel past time. Japan doesn't change times in the spring and fall which means that the sun is up at around 4:20am. Ouch especially since breakfast wasn't served until 8am.
The "big room" where Brad and I slept. The coffee table and tv stand where the only pieces of furniture. There was an entryway with a large closet and a decent bath.
The boys in their yakata (except for Jude who would have streaked to the tub, if we let him) on the way to the hot tub. Jude and Lucien with their souvenirs.
The Turtle Inn did have a public bath which was quite nice. Very hot water in a big tub with a panoramic view of the river. I could really get into this hot tub thing they have going on here. This one although public had a door that could be locked for privacy.
Edo Wonderland might be our boys favorite spot in Japan so far. Think of a cheesier Historic Williamsburg except it is set in Japan during the Shogun era with lots of shows based on Ninjas, Samurai and Geisha. All of the buildings were done in period architecture and there were several educational type places showing old inns, tea houses, fire stations etc. It wasn't very crowded so Lucien and Jude had plenty of characters to interact with. Brad and I sent them outside to play while we sat down and ate our noodles and within minutes they were sword fighting with samurai who gave them swords. We actually had a meal in peace. By the time we returned to the inn even Anders knew how to sword fight. Good thing we have three boys and not three girls.
I think she is some sort of jester but she made all of these cool shapes out of what looked like my mother's place mats from Pearl River.
5 ninjas. The gift shops were practically nothing but swords and throwing stars. Little boy nirvana.
Outdoor Ninja show complete with someone getting their hand cut off. Charming entertainment for small kids.
Sword fighting.
We had all of the sword fighting we could handle so on Monday a tamer day of a walk through the woods, visiting the Emperor's summer house and a beautiful waterfall was in order. The house was absolutely stunning with it's simple elegance and how it incorporated the outdoors with the indoors. None of the 106 rooms were particularly large and most were completely unadorned with only tatami floors and shoji screens. I do kind of wish they had left some of the furniture in it to get a sense of what it looked like when occupied.
A walk right outside of our hotel with a raging river and many many Jizo sculptures with their hats and bibs. "Jizō, or Ojizō-sama as he is respectfully known, is one of the most loved of all Japanese divinities. His statues are a common sight, especially by roadsides and in graveyards. Traditionally, he is seen as the guardian of children, particularly children who died before their parents."
Inside Tamazawa Imperial villa.
Three fairly clean kids-check, one beautiful imperial garden-check, perfect sunlight-check and yet a decent picture of the boys eluded me. Between Anders sqiggliness, Jude's inability to smile on command due to apraxia and Lucien's goofy smile, I should just quit trying.
Overlook on the windiest mountain road I have ever traversed on the way to Kegon waterfall.
Interesting eats at a stop on the way to the waterfall. Anything can be put on a stick, cooked and eaten in Japan including whole little fish and bacon. These were the food choices at the rest stop on the way to Kegon Warerfall good thing I planned ahead and brought sandwiches. Brad did enjoy the bacon.
Kegon Waterfall a peaceful and beautiful ending to trip. Anders made sure to shatter this illusion by screaming for two hours in the car on the way home to Yokosuka.
I feel almost like I've been there myself when I read your blog!! The boys will remember the ninjas forever - what fun for them. We're looking forward to seeing you soon.
Posted by: Dawn Morrison | May 30, 2009 at 01:01 PM