A light breakfast and the weather had improved somewhat since the previous
day and Jennifer was feeling so much better, thank heavens. My complaints about
the attempted charging us for breakfast when it was included in the rate seems
to have some effect as suddenly everybody came to offer assistance and chat
with their best English
On leaving our local town we stopped to have the hire car washed which
took a little explaining but anyway was accomplished and so much cleaner all
for Yen 1000 or £ 5.50, can’t get that in UK.
We took all the slow non motorway roads to Nikko and it is not an
attractive town in anyway in fact it looks a little run down with many shops
and factories closed which surprises us a little. We spotted lots of Gaijin
(Foreigners) walking the streets and most walking in the direction of the
Shrines and also the big Palace where the Emperor stayed during the Second
World War. We decided we have seen enough shrines and Palaces during the past
few weeks and carried on up the hill to Lake Chusenji which we last visited 28
years ago when living in Japan and had an appalling drive to get there as it
was a public holiday. To get up to the lake which is in an extinct Volcano
takes over 26 S bends up and a further 28 coming down and so you are
continually turning left and right.
There were very few people around the lake and many of the shops were
closed and also most of the Hotels which only open up during the main tourist
season which probably starts in the next week. We stopped in the Old and New
Parts of Nikko to find a restaurant but failed and then came across a chain
called Coco’s where we enjoyed some Italian Pasta set mean including soup and
desert all for £ 8.00 each, wow we know how to live.
Then back to the Hotel where we stripped of and went in the pool for
about an hour and a half including the Hot Tub. There was also an Onsen but you
really need to be with someone as they are not mixed and so both of us would
have been by ourselves sitting in Hot water so a joint Hot tub was the next
best thing.
Following a good lunch we then had a glass of wine and bread and
cheese for a early evening snack and then spent the rest of the evening
listening to our Ipods and Noel to Radio 2.
