From the town of Nikko we headed into the mountains of the Nikko National Park and Sheila counted 21 hair-pin bends on the road up. Fortunately it is one-way up the mountain and a two-lane road so the motorcyclists who were enjoying the tight bends could roar past us, and the more cautious cars could edge past while we trudged up in second - and sometimes first - gear.
On the way up we parked in an area where you had a splendid view of the scenery and where you could take a cable car to get a view of the waterfalls to come. Actually not sure whether this would have been worth it, it was better to drive on to Lake Chusenji which is what we did. We did however see a couple of beautiful little Honda sports cars with numberplate which duplicated their name - S660. Not sure they are in UK though and a 660cc engine might not make it attractive to the UK market - but they were cute.
On the way up we parked in an area where you had a splendid view of the scenery and where you could take a cable car to get a view of the waterfalls to come. Actually not sure whether this would have been worth it, it was better to drive on to Lake Chusenji which is what we did. We did however see a couple of beautiful little Honda sports cars with numberplate which duplicated their name - S660. Not sure they are in UK though and a 660cc engine might not make it attractive to the UK market - but they were cute.
Lake Yonoko
The first stop was Lake Chuzenji and the Kegon waterfall. This required parking (¥310) then a payment of ¥550 (£4.25) per person for a lift which took us down 100m to a set of viewing platforms at the base of the waterfall where we could get some excellent photos.
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After Ryuzu we went further uphill to Lake Yonoko and settled into a car park which serves nearby spas, hotels ands hostels. There was no michi no eki here so we overnighted without difficulty in this car park. There was a helpful information centre and some toilets. The place seems to be awash with small children and the coaches which transport them.
We explored the town during the afternoon, find
ing the pretty much everything closed at 4pm, and those that didn't closed at 5pm. There was a nearby area of outdoor hot springs which stank of sulphur and an area devoted to a ‘footspa’ where you sat on benches and dangled your tootsies into the smelly water. It was full of kids so we moved on.
No shops either up here so you need to come supplied. There was only one cafe at the lakeshore which did food but it closed at 4pm but it did have wifi.
We explored the town during the afternoon, find
ing the pretty much everything closed at 4pm, and those that didn't closed at 5pm. There was a nearby area of outdoor hot springs which stank of sulphur and an area devoted to a ‘footspa’ where you sat on benches and dangled your tootsies into the smelly water. It was full of kids so we moved on.
No shops either up here so you need to come supplied. There was only one cafe at the lakeshore which did food but it closed at 4pm but it did have wifi.
There is a nice a walk around Lake Yunoko, via a well-marked but occasionally lumpy path/boardwalk, where we admired the scenery (ever so green), the fishermen wading in water trying for trout (we didn't see any being caught) and catching sight of Coal Tits, Tree Creepers, a Nuthatch, the odd Duck and some beautiful Turtle Doves. The path took us to the Yutaki waterfall and down 240 steps to the viewing area where we met another school party but where they were selling little fishies on little sticks.
We then took a boardwalk along a 1.5km circular route downstream of the falls where we could see the bottom of streams through the clear water and the tangle of roots on enormous trees. Alas no bears and they would probably have preferred the local fishermen anyway.
We then took a boardwalk along a 1.5km circular route downstream of the falls where we could see the bottom of streams through the clear water and the tangle of roots on enormous trees. Alas no bears and they would probably have preferred the local fishermen anyway.
Note the elevation here.
