Today I visited the beautiful city Nikko with Rebecca. We met up in Omiya, which is only ten minutes away from Urawa, and afterwards we took the Tobu-line (a cheaper private-owned line) to Nikko. On the way to Nikko, we had to change trains, and one time we changed trains when in fact we should have stayed on the train we were on. The result? We had to wait on the next train for ONE hour! So we were just stuck in the middle of nowhere, in a city as lively as a graveyard, and everything was closed! It was about nine o'clock in the morning by then, so me and Rebecca just walked up and down a couple of streets before we headed back towards the station. I did find one building that I liked, I am posting pictures of it, so it wasn't a complete waste of time! ;) I think it was a university of technology or something =O Still, love the architecture!
So in the end we made it to Nikko! Or Tobu-nikko actually, from where you have to take a bus in order to reach Nikko. Before taking the bus, me and Rebecca walked around in the souvenir-shops, because A: They were interesting, and B: We waited for Stephanie, another amazing friend of mine! ;) So we saw many chopsticks, dolls, and monkeys in the stores. Now you might think, what? Monkeys? Well, apparently Nikko is famous for the three wise monkeys. You know the ones where one monkey covers the ears, another the eyes, and the third the mouth. I actually, didn't know that these monkeys came from Japan, let alone Nikko, so I was pleasantly surprised! I never did buy a souvenir though...
Anyway, when we went back to the bus stop next to the station, we saw Stephaine waiting in the line. I am so happy we noticed her! If not, she would have left, and we would never have known! This is because I can't receive the messages she sends me with her phone. She, however, can receive mine. Really weird...
Well, anyway, she was a part of a tour, so she had a guide and paid tickets and everything. Me and Rebecca just followed, haha. Well, the guides didn't seem to mind, in fact, they really helped us when we had to go home. They told us which trains to take in order to arrive to the stations where we had to switch trains, in this case, which train went from Tobu-nikko to Kasukabe =)
When we arrived to Nikko, we went to a temple, and there we found a lot of people in costumes. It was a festival! We took pictures with a lot of different people in different costumes, and it was really fun! Too bad my batteries died =( Well, I am getting the pictures from Rebecca and Stephanie, so I will post them eventually! =D
Then we saw the festival! Well... It was a bit of a let down, because it was more of a parade than a festival. The participants were dressed in different costumes, and then they just marched. No dance or music. Just march. Well, at least we got some pictures with them, and at least we saw Nikko, a very beautiful town! And we only went to one of many temples, so maybe I will come back one day, visit them, and get that souvenir that I never bought =)