Our Trip to Dragonfly Mecca, AKA Nikko

Over Labor Day weekend we took a trip up to Nikko, which somehow we haven't done until now. I'm glad we finally remedied that, because it was only two hours away and a wonderful oasis of wilderness, history, and culture. There were some setbacks like a downpour of rain one day and land leechs(yes, that is a real thing), but somehow the day that all happend was probably one of the best days of our trip. We drove down on Friday night and made it in time to enjoy dinner is a yummy ramen shop near our airbnb that served yummy corn butter ramen. The weather forcast showed that Saturday would be our best day for views, so we headed up the famous Nikko loop drive to Lake Chuzenji Area. Before heading up the road we decided to stop at the famous Shinkyo Brindge before it opened for people to walk on it. There we found a magical dragonfly wonderland, where the early sun made all the dragonflies sparkle. There were so many Pace, Jake and I each had one land on our hats and there were dragonflies on each fence post. We all loved it and then later in our trip we realized that dragon flies were just everywhere in Nikko.

We decided to go on the Akechidaira Ropeway. The view from the observatory was breathtaking with a little town nestled right next to a lake and a dramatic waterfall.

After that amazing view we continued up to Hangetsuyama Observation Deck. This required a hike, but even before we started hiking the view from the parking lot was a wonderful spot to just look out across a beautiful ladscape of undeveloped, beautiful mountains with no roads, buildings, or hint of human development for miles. It was glorious, and just what my soul needed. The hike up to the actual Observation deck was more strenuous than we expected, but the view made up for it (I think only Kai would disagree...he just did not enjoy the hiking).

For lunch we decended down to Lake Chuzenji to enjoy our picnic on the shores while our kids happily threw rocks in and a few may have gotten their feet a bit wet because they just couldn't resist.

After we drove up to Yudaki Falls, and Jane fell asleep on the way so we took turns viewing the falls. The boys and I were lucky enough to see someone catch a fish right at the bottom of the falls. The boys and I also took a walk to Kodaki Falls, which were much less dramatic, but a relaxing walk.

On the drive down we made a couple quick stops. First we visited Senjogahara Marsh and then we stopped at Ryuzu Falls. We made one last stop before our kids revolted (they needed some food). We went to Kegon Falls (the one we had see from the ropeway, but up close. They were beautiful. For dinner we went to the yummy Bell Diner and everyone found something to enjoy.

Day two was Sunday, and we wanted to keep the Sabbath day more relaxed so we toured things closer in town. Near our Airbnb was a walking path along one of the famous cedar lined roads. So we checked that out first. And ran into an interesting shrine.

We visited Toshogu Shrine, which was so beautiful and grand. When I said something about it being a temple, Grant corrected me and said, "Mom, this isn't a temple it's a palace". Anyway we visited the famous carving of the three wise monkeys, and we enjoyed the lovely cedar treess which made everything feel so old(which it is).

In the afternoon our kids were done with temples so we headed to the Ashio Copper Mine to take the train into the mine and then walk back out enjoying the history of the mine along the way (although Kai was hurrying us along because he was a bit affraid). When we were out the kids spent at least an hour just playining on the old mining equipment they had around...they could have enjoyed several more hours, but we decided to head home for a family devotional and PBandJs for dinner.

Monday we woke up to rain and it just kept on raining. We headed to Edo Wonderland. Louis dressed up as a ninja and Pace dressed up as a samurai. And we went to several shows. First was a ninja show, which had some amazing special effects for the small theater it was in. Then we went to a magic water show, which was good for a few laughs...which Kai especially loved. The magistrate show was funny too with a silly court drama that involved very large dentures. Anyway after that we wandered around saw some of the museum exhibits like the old fire house and the Samurai training grounds. We made crackers and ate lunch. Pace and Grant decided to try out woodblock printing. We watched a procession down the street where a Geisha was wearing the tallest platforms ever!Lastely we did the ninja maze. We decided to skip the ninja training and just head out.

We headed up to Ryuokyo Gorge to do a hike. It was still raining and Jane had fallen asleep on the drive up. So I kind of figured we were going to just skip it, but then Pace volunteered to stay with Jane so he could skip the hike and stay dry and Kai decided to stay behind as well. So Grant, Louis, Jake and I did the hike. It was absolutely stunning. That river gorge was beautiful. And we did get drenched, but Louis was singing the whole way despite the wet. Ryuokyo Gorge. Anyway we made it home and had a 7-11 dinner and realized several of us that went hiking had leech bites (I asume there were more out because of the rain)...so we rushed to get showers and make sure there were no more on us. The hike was amazing so I am still glad we did it, but GROSS! And I did find a really yummy sweet potato ice cream waffle at 7-11 which cheered me up.

Our last day we packed up and visited Kanmangafuchi Abyss. It was a pretty river walk lined with jizu statues said to protect children. So I just love this picture of my kids running along the row.

After we tried Nikko famous shave ice. It was a bit of a wait, but it didn't disapoint.

After we visited Heiwa Cannon, which is a large Buddha carved into a stone cliff. It was really really hot so we didn't stay too long.

Then we got relief from the heat in Oya History Museum, or should I say Oya underground quarry. The cold air felt so wonderful after the heat. And the kids loved it. It was pretty cool how the hot air outside created a cloud at the top of the quarry.

We made it home safely and I really think Nikko may be one of our favorite Japan destinations (right up there with Hakone, Ishigaki, and Hokkaido). And just for fun here is a cute picture of these two.