Looking for autumn leaves and finding them in Nikko, Japan

travel

9 Jun

October 2015. First time in Japan. First time in Tokyo. First free day in the city. Great! Let’s get out of the city. Where should we go to hunt for autumn leaves?

Well, as the title suggests.

Nikko (日光), a historic town located in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. What attracted me most to the place was its scenic landscapes and tranquility, offering a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city. It was autumn – my first experience of sweater weather – and spending time in nature felt like something not to be missed.

Although Japan’s extensive transportation network is incredibly convenient, it can be somewhat confusing for first-time travellers in a foreign city. So, here's hoping we didn't get lost.

At this time, I should mention that I never took notes or recorded my trips in any way, and my brain has a rather limited capacity for storing memories (so I was never exactly the best at telling stories or providing specifics).

For this post, I spent a fair amount of time digging through old photos and piecing things together. From what I can gather, the journey to Nikko took approximately three hours.

After a bit of detective work, this is the route I believe we took:

Hotel → Shinjuku Station (10-minute walk)

Shinjuku → Kanda via Chuo Line (~11 minutes)

Kanda → Asakusa via Ginza Line (~10 minutes, I think)

Asakusa → Shimo-Imaichi via Tobu Railway (1 hr 40 min)

We were actually travelling as part of a tour group, and there was a bit of uncertainty and procrastination on our end in Tokyo before we finally decided to spend our free day heading to Nikko. I had done a little research before the trip, but I wasn’t sure whether it would be something the whole family would enjoy.

My dad wanted to experience the Shinkansen, so we ended up taking a slightly roundabout route through Tokyo before heading out to Nikko. It probably wasn’t the most efficient way to get there, but it added a bit of extra travel experience to the day.

In the end, that meant our time in Nikko was a bit short, leaving much of the town unexplored.

From Shimo-Imaichi Station, we were already in Nikko.

We arrived safely. I think there's a 10-min bus ride from the station to the shrines and temples area, but we walked through the town instead. After some doubt and uncertainty between train transfers, we were greeted by cool air and immediately taken in by the scenery.

Brilliant hues of red, orange and yellow stood out against the green foliage. A traditional vermilion bridge crossed the river, where white foam formed at the bottom of the ravine.

At some point during the day, we grabbed some dango from a street stall in town. Sorry, guys. I forgot to plan for lunch, as I often do when I'm travelling.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around and admiring the autumn colours.

Surrounded by forest.

Stone path covered by autumn leaves — Daddy and Mummy

Looking back, Nikko's history deserved more attention than I gave it. At the time, though, I was completely captivated by the autumn colours. Coming from tropical Malaysia, the reds, oranges, and yellows were unlike anything I had experienced before.

Before long, it was time to head back to Tokyo. We made a quick stop by the Tokyo Skytree and the Hachiko Memorial Statue in Shibuya before calling it a day.