Nuts for Nikko

Despite the main season for visitors being Autumn, I knew that my best chance to explore the area was last week over Obon break. As a typhoon was approaching and was supposed to hit over the week of holiday, my cancelled plans for a hike up Mt. Fuji left my itinerary with a gaping hole. Luckily, just as it is a couple of hours south of Tokyo to visit Fuji, it was also a few hours to make my way up to Nikko - a place that had come highly recommended ever since I arrived in Japan.

A wonder of gold, nature, and sweaty tourists, Nikko is the perfect (relatively) undiscovered spot to beat out anything that is already in Japan’s usual tourism circuit. With shrines dating back to the year 767 and the mausoleum of the first Shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate: Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nikko is dotted with 103 temples and shrines and a history that will leave you speechless. Alongside the abundance of cultural features, Nikko is amassed with nature. Between the waterfalls and mountains, rivers and lakes, it really is a place that has it all - a fact that is continuously vouched for by a long list of names - of which I have now added my name to the bottom of.

Canterville Ghost: spooky after reading!

Write about the spookiest place you have ever been to, or the spookiest experience in your life?

This is the story when I went for a drink with my friends last Bon vacation. I went to the bar by train that day because the bar is far from my house. But after drinking with my friends, I missed the last train of the day because I wanted to drink with my friend later. So I came home by taxi after drinking. Since I wanted to save money, I got off at the earlier station than the one near my house. And I walked from there to my house.

But the way was very dark and lonely without houses and car running. On the way, suddenly I was surrounded by the noisy lap sound that we could hear like someone beat the guardrail. Of course, there should not be anyone exactly. I wondered if animals like a bird beat the guardrail. (even if birds, too big noise) Then, I stopped and shouted with loud voice regardless of midnight, and the lap sound stopped.
I got relieved and started to walk again. At just that time, I could see a bunch of flowers offered for someone near my foot. I found what it means and got scare and sober. I ran away at once.

This is my spookiest experience. This might be just accident, but the timing I could hear lap sound and found a bunch of flowers was too good. I was very surprised at this experience.

My summer holiday movie - Haruka

Summer holidays!

We're all going to be having a holiday next week, so please remember to take your towel to the beach, put on the suncream, and to take an umbrella (it's pouring with rain today - the ducks in the river are having a ball!)

Hijiri and Eleanor made a go-cart out of the Lego cupboard this morning in Pre-School, and my back still hurts from pushing them around, 'again' and 'again'! Big turn out today and we had fun trying to cut things out of our colourful play dough - still plenty to go around. We think Jim enjoyed mixing the food colouring into it rather too much yesterday!

HOpe you all have a great Obon Holiday - read an English book if you've nothing else to do? Send us a postcard if you go somewhere nice - or share a picture here or on our Luna International group on Facebook?!