All posts of our Japan journey 2015
Out of amazing Nikkō National Park which covers around 115 ha, we visited a small area around Nikkō city. Near lake Chūzenji we climbed sacred Mt. Nantai (2484m) and admired the view of the Kegon Falls. Hiking through the Senjō-ga-hara marshlands we reached Yumoto Onsen. Originally we had planned to climb Shirane-San (2578 m) and traverse to Oze-Nationalpark through the forests, however the wet and foggy weather made us return to Nikkō city.
To the joy of Phil we spotted many mushrooms and insects along the forests and mountains, and he rarely misses a chance to take a picture. Discover a selection below.
We skipped the Fukushima prefecture due to weather and other environmental reasons, and continued to Nikkō. The many foreign tourists we encountered reminded us that this place is quite near to Tokyo. Nikkō is famous for its religious sites. We spent two days immersed in historical scenery, visiting the georgeous Tōshō-gū shrime, the Shin-Kyō bridge and the Kanman-ga-Fuchi abyss.
Dear Tōshi-san, thanks so much for your help, you saved our day! If you read this please write a comment – we forgot to ask you for your mail address 🙂 Cheers
Our next destination was Zao-Quasi-National Park. Initially we thought to walk across the park in approx. 4 days, but the path and weather condition were unpleasant. So we got directly to Zao-Onsen after the first day by public transport and stayed for two days. Once the rain stopped we set out again to Zao-San (1841 m). However, dense fog again blocked our view to the terrific Okama caldera lake. We stayed overnight in a mountain shelter and got woken the next morning by fellow hikers, using the toilet. That must have been a funny picture for them: two Gaijins (foreigners) still sleeping in their bags while they must have been hiking for quite some time☺. Therefore we decamped and while the weather improved, we climbed Byōbu-Dake (1817 m) and Fubō-San (1705 m) before descending back down the valley to the campsite.
