Nikko — mika ohata

Nikko is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture and is accessible from Tokyo with a day trip. While most visitors try to squeeze it into a day, Nikko is worth spending some time in! It’s known for shrines that are classified as world heritage sites. But there are many other scenic areas that make Nikko beautiful! My friend Erin had never been so we decided to give it a shot and go in mid-November. During autumn, Nikko is filled with bright, colorful trees and is absolutely beautiful. While it was still autumn when we went, we unfortunately missed full bloom which resulted in seeing many dead trees. But nevertheless, the scenery was still great and I had an interesting experience filled of adventure.

Erin and I bought a Nikko All Area Pass which includes roundtrip ride on the train from Tokyo (Asakusa Station) and unlimited trips in the Nikko area on the buses and trains. This pass is only for foreigners traveling in Japan for a short period. But they sold it to us anyway and didn’t even check our passports. If you’re living in Japan, I would try to get this pass if possible! It’s sold at any Tobu Service Center.

Day 1:

We took an early morning train going to Nikko. On the way there, we paid a little more to sit in the direct train (versus local) that went straight to Tobu Nikko Station in about two hours. From there, we rode the train all the way up to Ryuokyo Station. Nearby the station is a path to walk along to Ryuokyo Gorge. In my opinion, this was the highlight of the trip. The water is emerald green and the autumn leaves were vibrant in the area. While it is a bit far from Tobu Nikko (about another hour), it’s totally worth the journey.

After exploring the area, we made our way back to Tobu Nikko, grabbed a nice Yuba (tofu skin) udon lunch and caught the bus to see the main sights of the city - Shinkyo Bridge & Tosho-gu. In the city center, the autumn leaves were in full bloom and maple leaves painted the town red! Autumn is one of my favorite seasons in Japan. In Hawaii, we don’t get seasons so the red maple leaves really made the trip worth it! While Tosho-gu is impressive, the entrance fee is pretty steep and the area is just okay. If it’s your first time here, you should visit it once. But also make time to go to all of the incredible nature sights in the area.

We ended our day eating some delicious fried Yuba Manju (nearby Tobu Nikko Station) and checked into our airbnb not far from Nikko Station. The town closes suuuper early at night so plan ahead! There are only a handful of restaurants open at night (at least when we went).

Day 2:

The next day, we woke up early and caught the first bus from Nikko Station to Yunoko Onsen to see Lake Yunoko. Our airbnb host kindly cooked us breakfast and even dropped us off with her car to the station area! We expected way more fall leaves but the autumn colors had ended and Lake Yunoko was pretty bare. Nevertheless, the lake was calm and serene. If you go during peak autumn season, the ride up to the lake will be beautiful filled with bright leaves! But if you’re unlucky like we were, you will just see rows and rows of bare branches.

After a short time at the lake, we caught a bus down to Ryuzu Waterfall and then hiked all the way up to Senjogahara Marshfield and ended at Yudaki Waterfall. For future reference, it would have been better to hike down from Lake Yunoko ending at Ryuzu Waterfall! But since we had a bus pass, the rides were all covered which was a big relief. Hiking in this area was really peaceful. Senjogahara was filled with autumn weeds and leaves. We even snuck a few pictures inside the marsh before getting yelled at to stay on the wooden path.

To end our day, we explored the Chuzenji Lake area. During peak autumn season, the mountains are incredibly beautiful. But sadly all we saw were dead trees on the mountains. If you have time, take a lake cruise on Chuzenji and don’t forget to visit the famous Kegon Falls! Instead of paying to go to the lower entrance, we explored the free area and then snacked on some “korroke,” a japanese potato croquette. And our two day adventure came to an end! We caught the local train back to Tokyo and enjoyed some dinner in Asakusa before heading home.