Guest Blogger in Nikko

So Denise has been hounding me, Jeremy, for quite some time to post some blogs and I usually use my mad manipulation skills to weasel out of it -- "But you're such a good blogger! Everyone's always saying what a great writer you are and how funny your stories are. You should be the family blogger." That usually works pretty well (at least it did until I just let me secret out) but on this trip, Denise didn't come with me so I had to break down and start blogging. It turns out that it takes forever, isn't as easy as it looks, and I'm having a hard time getting this dumb program to do what I want (like change the order of the pictures in the blog after they are uploaded). Who knew?

Anyway, last weekend I discovered that there was a couple of open seats left on a tour the base was doing to a place called Nikko. Nikko is a place I've always wanted to visit and while Denise was on board initially, when she found out the bus left Camp Zama at 0430... well lets just say it was mighty convenient to say "That's a really long day for Abby; I should really stay home with her." So, I went by myself. The bus ride there was a little over 5 hrs, we spent 5-6 hrs there, and then another 5 hrs back; in the end I was pretty happy she and Abby didn't come because Abby would have driven us all crazy!

So the bus ride up was pretty nice. Getting anywhere in Japan takes FOREVER and even though Nikko is probably less than 200 miles from where we live, it still takes over 5 hrs. Luckily I was able to busy myself with some new podcasts I discovered in the iTunes store. If you have an iPod (and come on, who doesn't have an iPod... I have 4, 5 if you count the one Denise has claimed as her own) and haven't explored the podcast section of the iTunes store, you are really missing out. 99% of them are free and you can learn some REALLY cool stuff. My current favorite is this:

http://www.intelligencesquared.com/

The website goes to the British version but there is a link for the US version. Both are super interesting and you can find the podcast in iTunes.

Anyway, I digress. The bus ride up was nice and relaxing, mostly because it was me and a bunch of old people. I guess pretty much everyone that has kids was staying home that day because it was Halloween. Yes, I chose to go on a trip instead of take my daughter trick or treating. The guys at work already hassled me to no end when Denise showed up at their houses without me. Back to the story... The most entertaining part of the trip, other than my awesome podcasts, was right when we were leaving, which was well before the sun came up. Now, buses in Japan leave at the EXACT second they say they will. When the big clock at the front of the bus flips over to 0430, the driver starts the bus, closes the door, and we go. Knowing this, some of the ladies on the bus where starting to get a little worried when at 0426 one of their friends had not yet arrived. One lady busted out her cell phone to call the friend and sure enough "You're still asleep! We're leaving in 4 minutes!" 3.5 minutes later a car came roaring into the parking lot and a lady came running up to the bus. She climbed on, a little out of breath, looked down and then shouted out "Oh my gosh... I forgot to put on a bra!" You can imagine all the guys on the bus (all older dudes) turned bright read but all ladies in the group (probably all in their 50's) started cackling with laughter. One said "I forgot my spare or I'd loan you one." Needless to say, that lady spent the entire day with her coat on and done up. Oh and yes, we left at the stroke of 0430.

Alright, I've digressed again. Nikko is a beautiful place; one of Japan's national parks and a World Heritage Site. It is especially beautiful in the fall (and Cherry Blossom season of course). Denise doesn't think Japan has nice fall colors; I think she's crazy. Now, while Nikko is beautiful, its close proximity of Tokyo means that me and 200,000 of my closest friends decided to visit on this beautiful Saturday. The place was packed! I managed to crop/photoshop out some of the people in my photos but I'm definitely not alone here. Anyway, because I can't figure out how to reorder the pictures without re-uploading them, there is no particular order here. You should click on the pictures because the full-size ones are pretty nice if I do say so myself.

Most of these pictures are taken inside the Toshogu Shrine but there's a few from outside as well.

This is the path that leads to the gate of the Shrine. Luckily I was able to crop out the guy that almost kissed my camera lens right when I took this picture.

This is the same picture, just from 180 degrees the other direction.

Here are some of the snacks offered for sale. Cotton candy, peanuts, hot dogs... Nope fish on a stick. Those that know me know that I took this picture with the zoom lens!

So, for those that have a chance to visit Japan some day, put Nikko on your list of places to see; just don't forget to bring your own lunch!

P.S. After seeing how long this is, Denise is probably never going to ask me to blog again :)