Nikko Day One

Tuesday.

Day didnt start off right becoz i fell in the room and slammed my finger onto the wall and i heard my last finger cracked in a series of sound. I dun think I had fractured it but it sure hurts like hell and i was too stunned to move apart from like holding on to my last finger and hope i didnt break anything. It looks right and feels right so i rushed off to the train to try to get to the Tobu line at Asakusa, in time for my rapid train to Nikko.

It was about 2.5hr right to Nikko and i kinda dozed in and out of sleep on the way. Luckily i dressed light (as the metro trains are soo warm) coz the rapid train had the heater blasting away beneath the seat.

The sight along the way wasnt spectacular coz it was winter afterall. So everything is kinda dry and brown and withering. When i reached Kinugawa Onsen station, I was really really lucky as there was a welcome booth for foreigners due to welcome to Japan week. There was a gal who kinda spotted me as a Chinese and asked me if i could speak mandarin. Whoever complained about Singapore's bilingual lessons is the dumbest kid on the block coz Mandarin saved the day.

She explained to me about the maps, and best of all she gave me free to and return passes for the buses and told me where to get on the bus to the hotel direct. I didnt realise how lucky i was until i got to the hotel. For it was there and then that i realised that NO ONE speaks english here. No english signs, no english personnel. Not that i blame them or anything but i was really tired and the last thing i need was trying to get my brain to work harder in a foreign language.

Anycase, being typically "unrisky", i had already booked the room and payed for from singapore. However, I still needed to ask where the private onsen was and booked it and all those conversed in japanese. No bad huh :) I think that was the proudest moment in the whole trip. haaa haaa

So at about 5pm, I reached my hotel which oversees the kinugawa river in Nikko. After a quick snooze, i went off to the lobby and had the bus dropped me off the private outdoor onsen. It was a 2min ride but since it was drizzling, the hotel didnt want me to walk. Very considerate.



The onsen was 50mins and cost about $50 and i thot it was pretty reasonable. Weather in Nikko by the way is very cold comparing to Tokyo. the wind and the rain didnt help things. So imagine stripping down to nothing in prob -3 degreess is no joke. I had a quick rinse and jumped straight into the big hot inviting onsen bath tub! Sorry no naked pictures here! haa haa

As it was outdoor, i could see all the steam around me, with the orange lights shining on the trees. It was really romantic and serene. Of coz it was impossible to stick myself for full 50min in that hot bath and so i was hopping out periodically to cool down with the cool water.

By 40mins, i was done. I was totally refreshed and radiating heat, The cold didnt bother me one bit after the soak! The bus was on time to get me back to hotel and for my in room dinner. The dinner wasnt that fantastic honestly and i was so dead beat that i was really ready to sleep at 9pm! The guys came and fix up my futon/ tatami bed and it looked so pretty and inviting. heh.
So that was end of day one in nikko and tomorrow, Tobu Nikko here i come!