In some ways, this is really the start of the trip. Nikko and Utsunomiya was a quick rest to settle into things before racing off across the Japanese countryside.

After breakfast at McDonalds, the Hayabusa takes me to Sendai. Unlike the other shinkansens, many trains on the Touhoku Shinkansen does not have reserved seats, probably a way to enforce pricing tiers between express trains. I already got the ticket beforehand on the first day.

The clouds from last night still hangs low in the distance, a constant worry that it may start pouring anytime.

Instead of going right to Aomori, I take a detour at Sendai to go to Yamadera, a temple complex built atop a steep mountainside about an hour out from Sendai in neighbouring Yamagata prefecture, with its roots tracing all the way back to the 8th centuries.

Strangely even though it’s faster to go to Yamadera from Sendai, most routing will suggest you go via Yamagata. Probably a transfer or distance travelled preference that fails to take into account that the Touhoku mainline shinkansen is so much faster than the Yamagata mini-shinkansen.

I got half an hour transfer time. Find a locker, throw in the bag, should be plenty of time.

Except I find they’re all Suica lockers. I got no money left in my Suica, so I need to charge it up first. There’s no Suica charging station anywhere near the Shinkansen side (why would there, most wouldn’t use Suica to ride the Shinkansen).

So I haul my bags downstairs to the local train area, finds a Suica charging terminal and slap 500Y in it then hauls the bags upstairs again to the Shinkansen lockers. An exhausting and frustrating exercise. From here out I always keep at least 300Y in the card.

Frustrations aside, those Suica lockers are awesome. There’s no fumbling of keys (or forgetting keys) or coins, just put your bag in, select the locker number on the control screen, swipe the card and you’re done. When you retrieve your bags, swipe the card again and the locker automatically unlocks.

The train to Yamadera is already more exciting than Nikko. The leaves are just right, a verdant rainbow of red and orange amongst greens hillsides. My sour mood from the day before brightens as the trains enters the bushy mountain ranges separating Miyagi and Yamagata.

Yamadera is a small sleepy town resting in a three pronged river valley, with the temples on the southern rockface overlooking it with tranquil watchfulness.

 

 

The main temple facilities are at the bottom of the mountain, with halls of worship and relic displays. There’s a small 300Y fee to ascend the pilgrim trail to the mountain top. After 1500Y for Toshogu, no complaints here.

 

The trail is shaded and damp, well maintained so not slippery. Along the trails lines stone statues of buddha and shrines and historic spots where monks used to meditate. The ascent is steep but otherwise uneventful, save for the surprising number of other tourists also ascending the trail, I had thought the early time and the remoteness of the location will leave the place fairly quiet.

 

As I near the temple gate it begins the drizzle. I curses quietly but determinedly presses on, shielding the camera under the umbrella. There’s some good to go with the rain, the temples takes on a delightfully deep colour hue from the wetness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mountain top complex consists of a half dozen buildings and temple shrines, most famous is the Founding Hall built by the founding buddhist master, it along with a sutra repository sits atop a rock outcrop. Nearby is a prayer ritual hall that also serves as a lookout, providing great vantage over the town below.

There’s a disproportionate number of Taiwanese, a theme that continues throughout the rest of the trip. I’m not sure if it’s always like this in this area (but surely touhoku can’t be too popular), or it’s the time of year (but it’s not public holiday in Taiwan).

The place is a lot of fun and the view a sight to behold. Especially with the rain the valley is shrouded in a light fog that gives the place a traditional ink wash painting like feel.

Time is constrained by the train, sadly, there’s only 1 every hour. If I missed my planned one I’ll be stuck here for another hour. I left it to the last possible minute before madly dashing down the trails to the station. All together, about 2 hours spent at Yamadera including time spent climbing the trails.

 

On the way down I also discovers to horror, that my camera has run out of space. In my previous trip I went through 1 and a half over 5 days and yet here I’ve shot 8gb in basically a day and a half. I bought an extra card for this trip for a total of 3, but at this rate that won’t even last half the trip.

At Sendai I get my ticket to Aomori (again, train is reservation only) and buys a bento for lunch. Sendai has a cute rice ball samurai mascot and the of course, this eki-ben contains not one, but two of the little guys.

 

 

The Shinkansen only goes as far as Shin-Aomori (New Aomori), to get to Aomori I need to make a transfer. No worries at all, they’ve time tabled everything and the 9 minutes transfer time is plenty as long as one doesn’t dawdle on the way. Leave the souvenir shopping when you get to Aomori.

Aomori is the first time so far where the air is chilly. At the top of Honshu, Aomori has always been a major fishing and transport port, especially as Hokkaido’s importance grew. The Tsugaru straight is a prime fishing grounds for tuna and if one was more interested, could even go on tuna fishing trips.

Aomori is my base of operation for the next 3 days (4 nights). During my planning for my own sanity I’ve trimmed down the first few days to a single itinerary around Aomori, Towada and Horosaki.

My hotel is about 800m from the station down Aomori’s main street. The street’s pedestrian paths are covered, with a separate bike path. Aomori is not quite as backwater as I thought, cars are plentiful and the main strips has no shortage of several storey buildings. One thing I did notice is a seemingly disproportionate amount of karaokes and izakeya (Japanese bar) along the streets.

The choice of hotel is an odd one. Art Color Hotel had an odd name and an odd selling point, its breakfast. But initially my sole determinant in booking it was its proximity to the station at a reasonable price.

 

I’m handed a wifi router on check-in. Like many hotels with some years on it they only have hard internet lines, this provides a good solution for non-laptop users (Chromebooks don’t have ethernet ports btw).

 

 

After settling in I head out for a tour of the city while waiting for my dinner place to open (what kind of ramen place open at 6:30? bah)

 

 

Finally it’s dinner time. A very famous local ramen place that specializes in curry milk ramen. It may sound odd initially, but do not be fooled. It is without doubt the best ramen I have ever had in Japan or anywhere.

The curry gives it a spicy tinge and thick aroma, while the milk balances the spiciness and provides further body to the soup. The generous portion of beansprout soaks up any oily taste while leaving the fulfilling richness. And the noodles are just right.

I don’t think I have ever considered any dish this way, this is a must not miss dish if you’re ever in Aomori.

 

There’re actually two curry milk ramen place in Aomori, each claiming to be the original inventor and each having their own unique taste. This one is closer to the main street and apparently better rated.

I retire early for the night as there’s a lot of things to plan for and I got a big day tomorrow. Thankfully I got a Chromebook on this trip. I quickly realized I can use the Chromebook as a card reader and upload all the photos at the same time to google drive, which luckily also gave me 100gb free with the Chromebook.

For reason unknown, Japan is unreasonably hot. (Why is it so hot when the leaves are red early?) Even at night some light long sleeves are enough, it’s clear the hotel and other places didn’t catch the memo because they’re still using heaters.

Any case, I woke up early and have everything packed and ready by 6. I decided not to bring the heavy jacket (thank jebus), and instead brought just an extra long sleeve shirt in case things get a little chilly up in Nikko.

First thing to do is activate my sim card. The OCN Prepaid Sim is a 14 day data only card that costs 3750Y and gives you 100mb a day (throttles to 200kbps if over). Plenty for just checking webpages and google maps.

Breakfast is at… McDonalds, across the station front. The Mos Burger breakfast menu left me unimpressed. Oh why isn’t there a Doutor around?

I ate quickly, wary that the train leaves at 6:30, and only just makes it with coffee in hand. Off to Nikko we go.

The train is a standard commuter train with benches on either side. As we’re going against traffic there’s very few people on board. The train whistles down the rails with incredible speed. There’s only about 6 stations scattered over the 40km distance so the train can stay at top speed for periods.

40 min later the train arrives in Nikko. As there’s about 40min till the first bus there’s some time for me to get a bus pass and walk around.

 

 

 

I contemplated whether I should visit Toshogu first or go up to Chuzenji. Mostly a matter of timing and avoiding crowds. Going to Chuzenji first also means I’ll be travelling backwards, with the bus ride pass giving a good indication of distances between the points of interests.

I ends up going all the way up. Toshogu is within walking distance of the stations, it felt more prudent to leave them in the afternoon when timing can be more tight.

The road to Chuzenji includes a stretch of winding hairpin curves so tight the downhill traffic has to go through a different set of hairpin on the opposite side of the valley. The trees along the path was full of golden and red colours, but I found it very difficult to catch a shot on the ever turning bus and reflecting windows.

As the 2nd bus of the day, there’s not much tourists at the lakeside when we got there. It was only a little chilly and being in the morning, this was about as cold as it was going to get, I was glad I left my heavy jacket back at the hotel. Jackets can be surprisingly heavy.

I walked along the lakeside, first to the north, and truth be told was left somewhat disappointed.

There weren’t many trees along the lake front, even to the point of being barren. Neither scenic nor awe inspiring, much like the lakeside village, it felt manufactured, like everything was being made for tourists. Of course, everything at a tourist spot is for tourists, but some places are good at hiding it, making their sale fit in naturally with what the environment is.

Takayama (the historic districts specifically) is whole tourist purpose, but you do not feel being marketed at when you stand a midst its historic buildings. You have the sake breweries (which have always been in the area), the hida beef restaurants (but aren’t shouting at you with giant banners), tea shops and wood crafts (mountain town with history of woodcraft), all for the most part inconspicuous.

Then there are others that tries so hard to claim they’re special you’re left wondering if there’s anything behind the veneer (Kurashiki). There’s the canal, which you really should take a boat ride on (but not to get somewhere, actually it’s so short it barely counts as a stretch of river), there’s a lot of little trinkets shops, but don’t really seem to have a reason for being there. There’s plenty of restaurants, but no cohesion between them. There are cafes and teashops, and all so trendy. But together they felt more like a mall in the disguise of a historic area, as opposed to a historic area unveiling itself to you through its offerings.

Chuzenji unfortunately feels like the later. There’s a lot of swan boats rental, but what relation is it to the lake or its temples? There’s plenty of eateries with signs saying they specialize yuba (tofu skin) cuisines, because hey it’s the local food, but it felt the whole purpose of the motley rectangles of buildings is to sell you that yuba ramen, not something for you to enjoy and understand why you’d want that yuba ramen.

Maybe I’m being too harsh, and Takayama is also basically lined from end to end with stalls selling hida beef skewers and roasted rice pancakes, but those stalls does not feel out of place in those ancient wooden houses. Whatever it was, Chuzenji does not draw me in, it was just that, another spot to take some photos and say you’ve been.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I walked all the way to the Futarasan shrine. It’s a shrine dedicated to the Nantai mountain behind the shrine, overlooking Chuzenji. There’s 3 Futarasan shrines in Nikko, one down near Toshogu, one here by the lakeside, and the third atop the summit of Nantai mountain. From the lakeside shrine there’s a trail leading to the summit.

After touring the lakeside I head to the south banks to Chuzenji (the actually temple).

At Chuzenji temple the whole “you’re just being marketed to” feel really sinks in.

The temple caretakers ostensibly give you a tour of the temple, explaining its histories and developments, but then stops you from wandering off while he sells charms and incense to you.

It is so incredibly commercialized, so offensively sold that whatever history and grandeur that are within the halls and statues are lost.

I don’t mind places selling souvenirs, it’s a healthy relationship that shrines and temples should sell charms and fortunes and other extravaganzas in order to maintain its tradition and history, but when the entire purpose of you being there is so they can sell you a charm, the whole experienced is reduced to nothing but the stink of copper. There is no history to be shared, the history is just bait.

 

After Chuzenji temple I walk back to Chuzenji Onsen for a brief tour.

 

 

 

 

It’s about noon, I take the bus back down to Toshogu and gets off at Nishi-sando, the stop outside the western pilgrim path.

Before entering Toshogu I quickly grab some food at the nearby convenience store.

 

 

The feeling of too touristy and being treated like a cash cow continues after I descend down to Toshogu, and once again the caretakers have stalls set up right inside the halls of the temples.

I toured the complex, but I felt no closer to Tokugawa than I did before. Seeing his tomb gave me few thoughts of his achievements, his person. Just a constant river of tourists streaming by, commenting about the many steps they just climbed, or whether they have taken photos of the monkeys.

 

 

 

 

Toshogu is an impressive complex. As the resting place and place of worship of the deified shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, the walls and ceilings decorated with gold and beautiful drawings.

Nearby are several other shrines and temples. Below Toshogu is the rinnoji houmotsuden garden, and this is where I get my first feel of autumn.

 

 

There were trees with red and gold leaves up in Chuzenji and Toshogu, but scattered and isolated. Here in the garden I first get to see whole rows of trees with autumn leaves. There were also not the crowd outside, just a handful of visitors that have also come off the beaten path.

A beautiful Japanese garden, with the buildings and trail that goes around a small pond all with the backdrop of the crimson leaves. I got some surprisingly good shots. The only shame is the leaves are not evenly coloured. Some are already orange while others still have a tint of green.

 

 

 

 

There’s meant to be a light up event here but they delayed the start time to 5pm and the weather was starting to turn. With a long way to go to get back to Utsunomiya, I ultimately to end the day early and head back.

Just as well, it means I will get back to Utsunomiya just after 6, right in time for dinner. Perhaps some dumplings?

Whatever plans I had however, it ended when I stepped off the train.

It was pouring, like a blanket of water fallen over the city and I could barely see across the overpass crossing the station front road. Thank goodness the hotel is just a wee bit further from the overpass such that a mad dash is within the realms of possibility.

But coming back out again for dinner? That’s not something I look forward to. I decided it was best to find food now and once I get back to the hotel to hole up. Utsunomiya station, like most Japanese stations, had its own arcade with restaurants and also where the supermarket was. I did a quick tour of the restaurants, rules each off as unappetizing, grabbed a supermarket’s bento and some mandarins and ran back to the hotel.

Gotta love supermarket bento, ever since doing it back in Matsue this has become a real option. Delicious, better variety and less oily than ramens, not to mention cheap.

Japanese dinner options are severely limited, choices are basically Isakeya (bar), ramen or semi-proper restaurant (>1000Y). Bentos give a real option, especially since I don’t put much value in trying out hottest must eat dishes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About mid day flight from Taiwan to Tokyo, on Vanilla Air.

There’s a few reasons I chose a LCC this time. Surprisingly the first reason is not because of money, but scheduling.

I intends to enter Tokyo and exit Kansai, which removes choices like ANA and a few others. Then I wanted a mid afternoon entry and an even later exit, but most airlines usually just had a very early one (too early for me) and an afternoon exit.

By going with LCC I’ve removed the need to buy return tickets and be locked into the schedule of one airline, instead able to pick and choose the times I want from Scoot, Vanilla, Peach and Jetstar. It’s also not typhoon or snow season which removes much of the risk of flying with a LCC.

 

The seat is surprisingly comfortable, my guess is due to its thickness. The leather seat is a lot thinner than say the sponge on Cathay, which gives more actual space between seats despite being located at same distance. Whatever the reason, I find I can stretch my legs beneath the seat in front without worrying too much about hitting my shins.

 

Like other LCC, Vanilla does not include food in the ticket. Doesn’t stop people from ordering though, a plate of sandwich or rice and beef costs about 500-600Y, and drinks about 200Y. So about convenience store price. From an aussie stand point, even cheap! (5-6 bucks food, in Sydney? hah). Pricely for someone from Taiwan, which most of the passengers appears to be.

There’s a few things in the airline’s favour. They sold at a 30% discount, something about being the last flight of the day. Presumably they stock up for the whole day to push the turnaround time of aircraft. Then there’s that they sell instant noodles.

Instant noodles ought to be banned on LCC flights, out of the fact that they smell so good. As soon as someone orders one (and the flight attendants will be wise to make one anyway), the entire cabin is filled with the smell of delicious delicious ramen. Irresistible and guaranteed to make everyone think twice about saying “no” when the trolley comes rolling down the aisle. I think at least 1/3 of the passengers bought something, if not food then some drinks.

 

 

A plus side to having paid drinks is the quality is much higher, instead of generic brand drink poured from huge cartons the juice or calpis comes bottled much like what you’d expect from a convenience store.

I said no by the way, benefits of having been to the lounge before boarding.

Also, I had other things on the mind, namely the question of how much is an hour (plus a bit more) worth.

See, due to bad planning (or not, we shall see yet), I decided upon a 15 day trip when the entire trip plan was only vaguely in mind, thinking I’d be in Osaka on the last day anyway. So when I worked out the end trip, it needed me to be in Utsunomiya on the first day and Takamatsu on the last.

Meaning, I’ll need to pay for travel for one day, and I decided it best be the first day to keep the last day flexible (I might not end up in Takamatsu…. eh, backup-backup-plans).

There’s a few ways to get to Utsunomiya. NEX then connects to Shinkansen at Tokyo station is quickly ruled out since NEX is too slow, even if it cost only 1500Y for foreigners (50% off) for 5900Y total.

Keisei Skyliner and connects to Shinkansen at Ueno. About 6700Y and can get there under 2 hours.

Or bus direct to Utsunomiya but costs only 4200Y, runs once every hour and takes 3 hours.

So the question is, is being there at least an hour early worth it?

I had intended on deciding after I land, but Vanilla forced my hand early by offering a 270Y discount on the Skyliner.

In the end I asked, why do I pay 15 bucks to get to the Sydney airport by train when the bus would take just 5? Yes, 20 bucks is probably worth it, it means I’ll get to settle into the hotel earlier, get to walk around the immediate area for a bit, put some thoughts to the plans for the next day and beyond, whereas the bus means I get to the hotel and need to go to bed right away.

 

After landing it’s a quick rush through customs (just over 30minutes, must be some kind of a record, small aircraft means faster luggage). And then off to get some cash, exchange my JR Pass and tickets.

 

Disappointingly, if not unexpected, the Twilight Express train is a complete no go. I did get my backup Sunrise Seto Nobinobi seat/bunk which at least give me some comfort as it means I don’t need to go to Plan Z.

 

The Skyliner takes me to Ueno in just 40 minutes, that’s when I thought, there’s no rule saying I must connect to the next Shinkansen right away, why not have a ramen first? Ichi-ran is right outside the station (from my last Tokyo trip).

 

So I jump in the queue outside Ichi-ran ramen, have a quick fill (I’m probably crazy but.. I think I’ve gotten so used to Menya, Ichi-ran doesn’t taste as good as I remembered), jump back in on the Shinkansen and still got to Utsunomiya an hour earlier than the bus would have.

Hotel Sunroute is right outside the station, as I walk to it I am very glad I traded my original choice (700metres further and 300Y cheaper) for it. It’s slightly drizzy and dark, not the most lovely environment to be hauling luggage for any length of distance. The hotel staffs are very nice, and speak the best english I have yet to encounter in Japan. The room is small, aged but not patchy or soggy, quite happy with the overall package.

After a shower I head out for a quick walk about. There’s no Doutor in the vicinity so I am in need of a breakfast place (one that opens at 6, I stress). A quick tour of the station indicates I have a choice between Mos Burger and some local cafe. Oh and dumplings are evidently the thing in Utsunomiya, lots of dumpling places.

 

I also discovered two small supermarkets which is a very very good thing for cheaper drinks and fruits. I’ve learned fruits are one of the most important thing to eat while on a trip. It’s tempting to just feed on junk food and 7-11 bread, but without fruits my stomach will start feeling full of gas after 3-4 days.

 

 

No fruits today, I’ll grab some tomorrow. For now I’m happy to spoil myself with a bottle of milk tea.

As always before the real trip starts, it’s a quick stop in Taiwan via Hong Kong, and the much enjoyed Cathay Pacific Lounge experience.

This time during my stopover I went to The Bridge lounge for a change of scenery instead of The Wing like I usually do. Although nominally they have the same opening times, The Wing actually opens at first flight arrival, ie, my flight, and Bridge opens 5:30 sharp. So if the flight arrives early as they often do, The Bridge can require a bit of waiting.

 

The shower room is about 30% bigger by my estimation, with a much appreciated long bench and plenty of shelving space beneath the sink to cram bags/change of clothes/whatever, where as in the Wing I often had to juggle the limited vanity top area.

 

 

And the Bakery menu is fantastic. Much better food than The Wing (noodle bar not withstanding). Better dim sims, better bread, and grilled sandwiches and pizza.