Wednesday, April 29 – transit from Nikko to Tokyo

My train to Tokyo didn’t depart until 4:38pm; so, after leaving my bag with the apartment staff, I headed off to explore another walking trail from the map that Sato gave me.

The trail is called the Takino Path, and it runs along the periphery of the Toshogu Shrine complex.

The trail starts just across the street from the Shinkyo Bridge. This is Jinjaodo Hall. Jinjao is the deity who helped the Buddhist monk Shodo cross the Daiya River. This current hall was rebuilt in 1978.

The Hongo Shrine. The original building was destroyed by fire in 1684, but was rebuilt the following year.

Just behind the Shrine is…

…this Three Story Pagoda. Like the Shrine, it was rebuilt in 1685 following the fire.

Kodamado Hall. Kodama translates to “small ball“. According to legend, a monk witnessed two white balls rising from a pond here. Believing them to be incarnations of holy spirits, he built Kodamado to enshrine them.

After a short walk I arrived at Kaizando Hall. It dates to the early 17th century.

Next to Kaizando is Kannondo Hall.

People come to this hall to pray for safe and easy childbirth.

The wooden blocks look like one of the pieces in Japanese chess, which can only move forward in a straight line. The blocks are placed here in the hopes of an uncomplicated delivery and a successful life for the child.

Just behind Kaizando is the grave site of the previously mentioned monk, Shodo. He introduced Buddhism to the Nikko region.

Further behind Kaizando is Hotokeiwa (literally, “Buddha’s Rock“). Before it collapsed in an earthquake, people claimed they could see figures of the Buddha on its surface. It’s still a cool looking rock!

Today, 6 stone statues of the Buddha stand here.

The pretty Takino Path is a 3 mile loop.

After a little bit more of a hike, I am now at Shiraito Falls.

Just to the right of the falls is the entrance to the Takino Shrine complex.

Undameshi no Torii. Undameshi translates to “try your luck“. Visitors test their luck by tossing pebbles 3 times at the small opening at the upper part of the torii. It is said that your wish will come true if a pebble passes through. I didn’t try!

It is believed that the Takino Shrine was originally built in 820. These current buildings date to 1645.

Crossing little Munen Bridge is a symbolic separation from the mundane, everyday world into the sacred space of Mt. Nyoho. The bridge dates to 1677.

In the background…

…stand 3 sacred trees known as Goshinboku. According to legend, a goddess once descended upon them. The present trees were planted about 250-300 years ago after the original ones fell. The remains of one of the original trees can be seen in the foreground, lying on the ground just beyond the fence.

This is the approach to…

…Kodaneishi…

…a fertility stone. Visitors customarily offer prayers while standing in front of the stone and then circle it in a clockwise direction.

I am now on the loop back towards the start of the trail.

Ahead is Gyojado Hall.

The hall enshrines a 7th century mystic who founded Shugendo, a form of ascetic mountain worship.

Well, this was another fun, tranquil hike! And I encountered very few people on the trail; all locals. Nice!

It’s now early afternoon, and I’m a little hungry. This nearby Indian restaurant, Taj Nikko, has some great Google reviews (4.8 stars, with 450+ reviews). Let’s check it out!

(the restaurant is on the 2nd floor)

I must have just missed the lunchtime rush! (It did start to fill up shortly after I sat down.)

I chose the Double Curry Set, and…

…Hot Masala Chai. Total Cost: 2,400 JPY = 15 USD.

And it was very good!

As I worked my way through town to pick up my bag at the apartment office, I walked by the former Nikko City Hall (ca. 1919).

Also spotted another vintage Mini!

While at the the apartment office, Sato told me about a complimentary pop-up origami class taking place nearby. I still had some time to kill before my train departed; why not! Our instructor is on the right.

The class (including a rare Tim sighting).

And my finished product!

While waiting for the train at the station, I met a Russian, Dimitri, who clued me into the stamps that are available at all of the Japanese train stations. Cool! He’s been in Japan for a little over two weeks, and has visited over 100 stations. Wow! A man on a mission!

My train to Tokyo.

This is a Limited-Express train, and all the seats are reserved. I had a window seat, and no one sat next to me for the entire 2 hour trip. Nice! The cost of the ticket was 26 USD.

Views of rice paddies along the way…

I arrived at Shinjuku Station at 6:30pm, and then connected to a local train to take the short ride to Sasazuka Station in Shibuya, which is close to my Airbnb rental.

(You may recall from my previous Tokyo JE, that Shinjuku is the busiest train station in the world, with more than 1.1 billion passengers per year! And yes, it was jam-packed when I arrived! It actually might be busier than usual tonight though, because today is the first day of Golden Week here in Japan. It’s a national holiday period that runs from today until next Wednesday, and is Japan’s busiest domestic travel season. It can be a good time to visit Tokyo however, as many residents leave the city to visit their hometowns.)

The walk from Sasazuka Station to the apartment took 15 minutes.

I’ll be here for the final 7 nights of my trip.

169 USD/night

(Apartment in Chiang Mai: 40 USD/night. Apartment in Tokyo: 170 USD/night. Mmmmmm…)

It’s nice!

After briefly dropping off my things at the apartment, I gathered a few items that I would need for overnight and headed back out to travel across Tokyo to the hotel where I’ll be staying tonight.

Wait? What?!? You’ve rented the apartment, but you’re staying at a hotel tonight. What’s up with that? I think I’ll leave that explanation for tomorrow’s entry.

Travel Note: My hotel is located near Tokyo Bay, and I arrived in the area around 9pm tonight. It is a very quiet place at this time of night. Well, as I was walking around trying to decipher some wonky directions that Google Maps was giving me, a woman came up and asked if I needed any help. It was just her and me; nobody else around. I can’t imagine the same thing happening under similar circumstances in any major U.S. city. Japan is awesome!

The view as I looked for my hotel.

Sidenote: With the hike I took earlier today, and the walking I did around Tokyo tonight, I set a personal best daily step count for the trip: 26.2k!

Thursday, April 30 – Tokyo

Okay. I stayed at the Hotel Mariners Court last night because it is within walking distance of the Toyosu Market. Where I have to be at 5:30 this morning. To attend the iconic Tokyo Tuna Auction!

Sidenote: In January of this year, a new record was set at the auction when a a 243 kg (536 lb) bluefin tuna sold for 510 million JPY, roughly 3.2 million USD!

If I had stayed at my apartment last night, I would have had to catch a taxi (or rideshare) to get to the port by 5am, because public transport does not operate early enough. And that would have cost at least 50 USD. So, instead I spent 59 USD on the hotel room, and eliminated the stress of securing an early morning ride.

I know what you’re thinking: You idiot! Why did you book the Airbnb for last night if you knew you were attending the auction this morning? Well, there is my lack of advance planning issues!

But also, on a lark, I entered the free lottery to view the auction from the special observation room that is located on the same floor as the auction. And I won a spot! I had already made my Airbnb reservation by the time I was notified of the win. That was the main reason I needed the double booking last night.

The email confirmation of my lottery win.

The Toyosu Market Complex opens at 5am. I got there a little before that to join the short queue of people waiting to enter the building.

The Toyosu Market at 4:50am.

I did not have my Wisconsin baseball cap on today, but I was wearing my black UW fleece with the less recognizable “academic” version of the W logo on the chest (I’m seen wearing it in the origami photo yesterday). Well, as I was waiting in line, the woman standing in front of me asked if I was from Wisconsin. She recognized the logo. Crazy! Turns out she’s from Wauwatosa, and graduated from the UW. Small world!

The “Academic” W

Sidenote: The same thing happened to me back when I was living in London. I was wearing the same fleece, and was taking the train from Paris back to London. A man sat down next to me and asked if I was from Wisconsin. This would have been between 15 and 20 years ago, which just made me realize how long I have had that fleece! Wow!

There are two areas where visitors can view the auction:

• The auction walkway gallery one floor above the auction area
• The special observation room that is on the same floor as the auction area (via lottery)

While everyone else waiting in line made their way to claim a viewing spot in the walkway gallery, I was directed to this Visitor’s Hall where the lottery winners would gather before heading down to the auction floor at 5:35am.

My visitor card.

I had some time to kill before our group made the move to the observation room at 5:35am, so did a little wandering around the complex.

288 cm = 113 inches

This is the 2nd floor auction walkway gallery. Folks are beginning to get into viewing position. When our group walked through here at 5:35, the hallway was full.

The view from the walkway gallery.

I took this picture after the auction. The arrow points to the observation room allocated to the lottery winners.

The observation room. It’s kind of hard to see in this photo, but the window glass does not go all the way up to the ceiling. The open space at the top allowed us to hear what was happening on the auction floor.

There were about 20 of us in here watching the auction.

The view from the observation room. The walkway gallery can be seen in the upper left.

The fresh catch is off to the left.

The frozen catch is in front…

…and off to the right.

There are several separate auctions that take place throughout the session. For example, the group of frozen tuna in the foreground will be sold off individually in their own mini-auction.

And the auctions are run at a very fast pace. The fresh tuna seen here has already been sold, tagged, and in one instance, crated.

Here one of our guides is demonstrating the hand signals used by the buyers during an auction.

Crates ready to be filled.

In the background, a mini-auction is taking place. In the foreground, buyers are inspecting the tuna. One item they check are the tails, which have been cut off and defrosted. With the spikes they are extracting moisture from the fish; this will help determine the fat content.

Okay, one of the last auctions of the morning is taking place right in front of us. The auctioneer is standing on the stool. The buyers have tags on their hats or are wearing armbands.

Here’s a short video of the auction. (apologies for the talking in the background)

And after 1 hour, the auction’s complete. (I took these photos from the walkway gallery)

This was a great experience! Well worth the early wake up!

I’m into stamps now! And was able to get a couple here at the market.

Housed in the massive building next door is the Fruit and Vegetable Market. I wanted to check it out while I was here.

An interesting promotional display in the observation gallery!

Another building in the market had a small area set aside with a few fresh fish restaurants.

I passed though; the prices seemed rather high.

On the roof of the building with the restaurants is this massive green space.

With nice views of the bay.

This has been a fun morning! But after yesterday’s busy day, and today’s early wake up, I’m ready to head back to the apartment for some rest.

My apartment building. And if that line is any indication, the bakery on the ground floor must be pretty good. I’ll have to check it out!