{"id":1868,"date":"2026-10-14T07:37:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T14:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/?p=1868"},"modified":"2026-10-14T07:42:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T14:42:28","slug":"over-the-river-and-through-the-woods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/14\/over-the-river-and-through-the-woods\/","title":{"rendered":"Over The River and Through The Woods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today we enjoyed a day trip to the mountain town of Nikko &#8211; around two hours north of Tokyo by train. Today was our first experience with the highspeed trains Japan is so famous for and we enjoyed watching the countryside and towns whizz by. Conduct on the train matched a consistent theme evident on trains\/subways in Tokyo: complete silence. No matter how busy the trains have been, everyone rides in silence &#8211; a nice reprieve from home where people have loud conversations and play videos\/music on speaker phone in public. That would never fly here! Today&#8217;s train was no different, except because it was not a commuter train we rode in style with electric reclining seats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5618-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1859\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5618-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5618-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5618-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5618-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5618-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" controls src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0627-1.mov\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fall colors are a big draw to Nikko and we were lucky enough to time our trip to see the beginning of the change in color. Not so lucky, our day began with a downpour &#8211; although this meant fewer crowds, always a good thing! Our first stop was the Shinky\u014d Bridge, a picturesque red bridge with the backdrop of mountains and the Daiya River. A short walk uphill from the bridge are a grouping of shrines and temples designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site including the Rinn\u014dji temple, the Goj\u016b-no-t\u014d pagoda, and the Nikk\u014d T\u014dsh\u014dg\u016b shrine. Japan&#8217;s two predominate religions in Japan, Shinto and Buddhism, exist in harmony here with shrines (Shinto) and temples (Buddhism) often sharing the same grounds. The shrines and temples in Nikko were amongst large towering trees, adding to the impressiveness of the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0633-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1849\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0633-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0633-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0633-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0633-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0633-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"754\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0643-1024x754.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0643-1024x754.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0643-300x221.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0643-768x565.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0643-1536x1131.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0643-2048x1508.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"789\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0645-789x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0645-789x1024.jpeg 789w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0645-231x300.jpeg 231w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0645-768x997.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0645-1183x1536.jpeg 1183w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0645-1577x2048.jpeg 1577w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0645-scaled.jpeg 1972w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 789px) 100vw, 789px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next we took a bus up one of the most winding roads we have ever been on to Chugushi situated on the shore of Lake Chuzenji, Japan&#8217;s highest elevation natural lake. The lake is also known as the Sea of Happiness, and we could easily see why given the stunning views (luckily, the sun welcomed us to Chugushi). This area is also home to one of Japan&#8217;s most beautiful waterfalls &#8211; Kegon Falls. The backdrop of the changing fall colors made this even more striking. A nice older couple was smoking trout from Lake Chuzenji using a traditional Japanese cooking method called shioyaki, salt grilling. We couldn&#8217;t pass up this adventure &#8211; it was quite good! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5641-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1857\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5641-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5641-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5641-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5641-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5641-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0435-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1866\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0435-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0435-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0435-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0435-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0435-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5645-1-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1863\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5645-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5645-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5645-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5645-1-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5645-1-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0667-1024x426.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0667-1024x426.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0667-300x125.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0667-768x320.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0667-1536x639.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0667-2048x852.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After taking the winding bus route down the mountain back to the town of Nikko, we strolled through neighborhoods and along the Daiya River to the Kanmangafuchi Abyss (a small gorge created by lava flows from an eruption of Mt. Nantai around 7000 years ago) and other vistas. The pathway through the Kanmangafuchi Abyss is lined by many Jizo statues which remain from an old Buddhist temple from hundreds of years ago. Although nearly all of the buildings of the temple grounds have been washed away by floods over the years, the Jizo statues remain, some in various states of wear. There were also many private and quaint shrines along the pathway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5651-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5651-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5651-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5651-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5651-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5651-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5653-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1831\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5653-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5653-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5653-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5653-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5653-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5661-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1827\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5661-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5661-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5661-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5661-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5661-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5662-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5662-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5662-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5662-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5662-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5662-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For dinner we enjoyed Sukiyaki, a traditional Japanese hot pot dish. This interactive cooking experience is both fun and tasty. The restaurant staff spoke very little English (we seek out local places, rather than tourist hot-spots) and we enjoyed working on our extremely elementary Japanese for a successful interaction!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0677-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1818\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0677-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0677-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0677-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0677-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0677-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tomorrow is our last day in Tokyo and we are looking forward to exploring Tokyo&#8217;s more historic districts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today we enjoyed a day trip to the mountain town of Nikko &#8211; around two hours north of Tokyo by train. Today was our first experience with the highspeed trains Japan is so famous for and we enjoyed watching the countryside and towns whizz by. Conduct on the train matched a consistent theme evident on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","iawp_total_views":24,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1868"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1872,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868\/revisions\/1872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyond-the-maps.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}