Nikko

Here we are in NIKKO! This trip was really amazing. We left early in the morning, (well, it would have been earlier if I had made it to the train station on time...) nevertheless, everything was dajobu, and we left on the 9am train to Nikko!

Once we got there, we went to a really famous temple, where sat the sleeping cat, the famous monkeys and many more cool things that I don't remember the proper terminology for...

Here we begin with 3 of my favorite MONSTERS. THE BLUE ONE was my favorite. RRRAAAUUUGGGHHHH! (if you personally know me, then you probably know how to pronounce the word I just typed.)






Japanese and their doors....an American did NOT construct this!

Mutsuko is a little taller than most Japanese women...



LASSIE!

Tomoko. Always hammin it up! (she will ask me the next time we meet: WHAT IS HAMMIN??? and I will explain it is a small country in Europe...)
This picture was supposed to be a little different. We were mimicking the monsters behind us, however, the very nice Japanese lady who agreed to take our picture did not understand that the monster in the background was a necessary element. Hence, our strange faces.
BEHOLD! THE WORLD'S SMALLEST SHRINE! Yours for the all-time low price of 1000yen when purchased together with this fabulous new car! (parked just in front)...yes, this is a shrine for your parking space. For the religious buddhist in you.

Half-way into our trip, we decided we had seen enough temples, so we rented a taxi for a couple of hours. He took us to this fabulous waterfall, famous bridge, and the MANY BUDDHAS!







While on the bridge, I came up with the clever idea of taking a picture of the 3 of us! Well, there was no one around to complete this task, so I held Mutsuko's phone camera way out in front of the 3 of us. I am such a dork. This is the result. I am already BIG. I am already the center of attention with my big body, big head, big voice, etc. Did I have to take a picture of this phenomenon so close? We laughed all the way to the other side of the bridge. BIG FREAKIN ABNOXIOUS AMERICAN!
　　And then we saw this dragonfly who let us capture him on film...






Tomoko is trying to see how far she can stretch. See? Maybe I can join the local long jump competition after all!

It was very cloudy and partly rainy. However, it could have been worse! It could have been HOT!

Here are the many many many many buddhas!
Just how many?
It depends on how you count them!
Some say if you start counting at one end, you reach one number. If you walk back and count from the other end, you will reach another number!
I counted 87, but then again, was it 88? Or 89? who knows?
And why all the showercaps?
Good question. The Buddhists believe that when a person dies, they can take certain things with them in the afterlife. So at grave sites, you will see caps, to keep their loved ones dry on the other side. You will see beer cans, etc. (see previous blog entry on Kamakura.)








We then had a FABULOUS dinner at an all-u-can-eat shabu shabu place that Kristina (kristinaintokyo.blogspot.com) and Jeremy recommended! We drank fabulous belgian beer, and ate 3 or 4 plates of pork and beef and (well I think it was beef?) What a perfect way to end a fantastic day with two of my absolute best friends in Nikko! (The only thing that could have possibly made it better is if Kristina and Jeremy could have been there too!)














Tomoko, will you please help me read this email message on my cell phone from Yuko? It's in Kanji and I can't understand it...