getting there

Before leaving home I had gotten myself an international Drivers License, that gives you a permit to drive in many countries (outside the EU) for up to 3 years. It only costs 15 EUR in Berlin and I had set the soft goal of driving in Japan at least once.

For my first destination I chose Nikkō, another common day trip destination from Tokyo that I had not done and conveniently located along the Tōhoku Shinkansen line. My plan was to take the train to Utsunomiya, rent a car from there and continue towards Nikkō, with the eventual goal being a hotel at the shores of Chuzenji-ko.

So I start the day nice and early on one of the first trains out of Ueno terminal. It’s another grey morning in Tokyo with the weather forecast promising sunshine for the next day at least. When I arrive in Utsunomiya though, none of that is in sight at all. Quite on the contrary it is pouring down as I leave the station building. Luckily I have my umbrella from the last trip with me, so I quickly orient myself and find the tiny Toyota Rent-A-Car office not far from the station.

At this point my biggest fear is the interaction with the staff there. I am very much aware that I don’t speak enough Japanese¹ and they won’t be super competent in English² for us to be much of any help to each other, should there be issues with my reservation or documents.

So I enter the store and approach the woman at the counter with my phone in hand to show her the reservation code. I was not aware at the time, that Toyota also has a version of their website in English, but because I booked through the local version the emails I received were all in Japanese as well. She confirms my booking through her computer and asks me for my passport and license, so I confidently give her those, including the International license. I know immediately that something is wrong. Her expression of confusion when she sees the admittedly pretty retro looking license says it all: This won’t do.

She goes to the back and after some back and forth she returns with another woman, who I interpret to be her superior. She asks if I have a translation of my drivers license into Japanese. Now it is my turn to be confused. I simply point at the International license she is still holding, but am well aware that it isn’t a Japanese translation at all.

So rather than a car, I only receive a polite “sorry” and have my booking fee refunded to me. I come back out into the rain with no idea how to even get to my hotel later and if it even makes sense to go at all.

I reconvene to the station Starbucks to do some research on what acutally went wrong. I figure out that some countries (among them Germany) don’t actually need anything more than a translation of the local drivers license into Japanese issued by the JAF³. This costs ¥4000 and takes up to 2 weeks (according to their website). So there is no way I can work this out today.

Now that I am dependend on public transport my schedule is a lot more constricting. The hotel I booked is served by a bus that runs every hour, though only until 1800. This means I have to be careful how I spend time around today’s destination: Tōshō-gū et al

exploring nikkō

hotel

The bus ride to the hotel is a little event in itself. From the main tourist area around the temple grounds there is quite the elevation difference to Lake Chuzenji. The narrow road winds itself up into the mountains as fog envelops the bus. I sit right at the front next to the driver and am baffled by how much we block the road when taking the serpentine turns, I dont’ think oncoming traffic (once they even see us coming) would have anywhere to go.

Up on the lake plateau the fog lifts and I get another sunset over the water this time. If the bus was already empty when I got on, when I reach my stop I am the only passenger left. The hotel bus stop consists of just a sign next to road and a driveway up into the hills.

Since I spent all day sight-seeing I had not had dinner, the first thing I do after getting into the room was checking out my options for food. The hotel has a menu, so I order Gyu-don⁴, which is supposed to be delivered right into my room.

While waiting for the food, I get changed into hotel attire. I really like that this is a thing. You really feel like changing pace when getting out of your own clothes.

Since this is an Onsen hotel, the thing to do after dinner is obviously the bath. I always like to go late, this is less effective when going to Sentō in the city, because lots of poeple seem to go after work or going out, but here it really makes a difference. I have the place for myself (at least for a bit).

The indoor bath has a huge window out to the forrest but since it’s dark and the room is lit up, that is not really useful.

There isn’t really much to do and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow, so I decide to just go to bed early.

After getting up, there is obviously breakfast first. The room fee includes a full course Japanese breakfast, so rice and various side dishes

At this point I still don’t know how to get to my planned destination for today, the Senjogahara wet lands, 10km from the hotel.

The other problem I am faced with is how to make it back to the station in time for the train back to Utsunomiya and eventually Tokyo. At the front desk I get told that the hotel provides a free bus back to Nikko at 11:00, but that is not helpful, since I have already seen the sights around there and want to explore the area in the exact opposite direction. After some research online I find that the same bus I came with yesterday goes aroud in a loop. So I decide to take off on foot for now and catch it on the trip back to the station later that day.

trails

So I begin walking at the lake shore alongside the road, follwing the sign for the Lake Chuzenji Nature Trail. There are some larger information boards that tell the histories of a small memorial garden and the lake house. It doesn’t take very long before I reach Shobugahama, where I start following the path towards Ryuzu Falls. The waterfall is on the way to where I want to make it today, so I put off my plan to find a bus stop that could take me to Senjōgahara Marshland, and check them out first. I just follow the marked trail which takes me up the hill next to the falls and into a web of paths through a wooded area tracing the Yu river.

At this point my plan has shifted to walking all the way up to the entrance of the wetlands walking trail, exploring there and then finding a bus stop to take me back to Nikkō. The weather is great and it surprises me how accessible the trails around here are. Although after some kilometers I encounter a gate into the Senjōgahara park area, which is apparently fenced off to keep deer in. I wouldn’t mind deer, but the entrance is also plastered with signs warning the inclined hiker of bears!

Once I arrive at the Senjōgahara Plateau Nature Trail, a raised wooden walkway straddling the open grassland, I start my GoPro and put in my OKM II microphones ⁵. I enjoy the serene atmosphere, enjoying the views and the calmness. Despite the number of other groups I encounter it feels relaxed and refreshing. At some point the path leads into a more forrested area, again the path is surrounded by the same plant as before which sound great as it rustles in the breeze. I can’t forget the bear warnings though. This being the first time I came that far out into the “wilderness” of Japan and I don’t really have a good sense of how serious I need to take them.