Nikko

It was very hot in Tokyo but cooler once we arrived in Nikko
In the morning, we checked out of the hotel and took the Ginza Line to Ueno Station and left Seiji activating our 10-day JR Pass.
Some of the group went to the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park which was free for over-70s. I walked round the Japanese civilisation and archaeology galleries and the garden with its tea houses, and had lunch in the restaurant at a nearby museum.
I walked back to Ueno Station which was the first of many very large stations which I saw on the holiday with lots of entrances, railway lines, and services on different levels. The handle on my large wheeled holdall had stuck so I'd left it in the largest left-luggage cupboards.
We took our first Shinkansen (bullet) train ride for 40 minutes to Utsonomiya followed by a local train to Nikko. The countryside was green with rice paddies and horticulture once we left the suburbs of Tokyo. Nikko was a small town with mountains nearby. Taxis took us to Hotori, our first ryokan with tatami floors and futons as bedding. Dinner was at a restaurant with an extensive menu. I had a meal with nine different items, a bit like an Indian thali,Read more