Travel by Shinkansen can be expensive, a round-trip bullet train to Kyoto starts
at ¥25,420 ($254.20) and takes 2 1/2 hours each way! That's 5 hours of your day dedicated to travelling
by train.
So we've decided to highlight two Shinkansen trips that will be easier on your budget and
closer to home base, so you can spend more time having fun in Tokyo and less time looking out of a train window.
For ¥6,600 ($66) round trip you can see the beautiful Odawara Castle (near the seaside) only
an hour away by Shinkansen *(or take the "Romance Car" from Shinjuku to Odawara for half that price).
For ¥7,800
($78) round trip you can go to beautiful Nikko (in the mountains) and see the original "hear no evil, see no evil, speak
no evil" monkey carving over the temple's doorway it's about an 1 1/2 hours away by Shinkansen.
This
beautiful defense castle was built high on a hill in 1495 and became the stronghold for five generations of the
Hojo clan (samurai lords) until 1590, when the Tokugawa Shogunate arranged for the relocation of the Okubo clan (samurai
lords) there.
We visited Odawara in 2010, (unbeknownst to us, there was a typhoon warning!). Everything turned
out ok, you can see for yourself in the YouTube video below:
You can walk the grounds for free, there's a moat surrounding the entire castle...
...with attractive
red bridges for you to cross the moat with.
Then you get to check out the outer-gates and courtyards
at Odawara Castle.
... and take a closer look at the details.
They
also offer costume rental there, so you might snap a cool pic of people having fun.
For
a donation of ¥400 ($4) you can enter the castle itself and learn a little more about its dramatic history.
...and at the top of the castle, you enjoy a beautiful
view and pretend that you own all the land you survey. Ahhhhh.
In fact seeing the beautiful view at Odawara
castle Tokugawa Ieyasu (the leader and first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate) is what prompted him to install the Okubo clan
there.
Ieyasu was so powerful (and popular) that his soul
was enshrined in many temples around Japan. Those shrines are known as Tosho-gu, the most most famous of which is
located in Nikko.
There are
three major shrines in Nikko. The Tosho-gu (with the three wise monkeys), the Rinno-ji (a complex of 15 Buddhist buildings
some adorned with beautifully red painted floors and ceilings) and the Futarasan (with a sacred bridge transformed into a
shrine).
Check out our 2010 trip to Nikko on YouTube below:
"Hear no
evil, See no evil, Speak no evil" the phrase is probably derived from old confucian proverb, but the japanese phrase
is "mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru" . The suffix"zaru" means "don't" and the japanese word for monkey
("saru") becomes "zaru" when it's a suffix. So in Japanese this phrase was always a pun as it could easily
sound like "hear monkey, see monkey, speak monkey". Therefore, in 1617 when the Tosho-gu shrine
at Nikko was built, the proverb was fittingly illustrated using monkeys.
All images of "The Three Monkeys" have been derived
from this original source, and the carving (pictured above) still remains above the stable of the shrine's sacred horses (pictured
below).
But to get to the stable, you'll have to go through a few gates.
First you'll cross under the Iron Torii.
Then through the ornately decorated guardian
gate...
which has its own intricate carvings...
...before you continue on your
way to the impressive main building....
...and the five storied pagoda.
It's alot to take in but you'll have time to see the Rinno-ji
complex too!
Rinno-ji
Pictured above is the Hondo main hall called Sanbutso-do and is the biggest
shrine in Nikko, it houses three statues of Buddha inside.
Rinno-ji is so expansive that it would be difficult to explain all of its highlights, it's
a great place to just pick a road...
and stumble upon some really ornate
buildings...
...or modest ones...
...and it's going to be beautiful even if the weather's
not so good.
Below is the walkway between the twin halls of Jogyo-do and
Hokke-do
There are only two temples in the world with this style of rare architecture. One is here in
Nikko and the other at a shrine in Mt. Hiei (near Kyoto).
Another rare feature of Nikko is the Futarasan temple, where a sacred bridge has
been turned into a Shinto shrine.
Futarasan Jinja 二荒山神社
This
shrine was founded in the year 767, and not only features a very cool sacred bridge as a place of worship but also
houses two swords that are national treasures of Japan.
By now you're familiar
with what a Torii gate looks like, pictured above is the entrance to Futarasan shrine.
The main hall of Honden
(above) houses the famous swords but the treasure rooms are closed to visitors.
Also belonging to Futarasan Shrine is a sacred bridge called Shinkyo that you're likely to
see on your way to the shrines from Nikko train station.
It's the oldest bridge in the country, and is known as one
of the finest three bridges in Japan.
Getting There - Odawara - Odawara Castle
From Shinjuku 新宿 - Take the Chuo 中央 line to Tokyo 東京(station) and
get a ticket for the Shinkansen* to Odawara.
Price: ¥3,300
Time: 63 minutes
*OR save some money
by taking Odakyu's Super Hakone Express from Shinjuku straight to Odawara for ¥1,720 (66 minutes). The cars are called
"romance cars" because you pretty much have to go with a buddy as the seats are doubled up (meaning there's seating for two
instead of individual seats with armrests on the train).
From Nakano
中野 - Take the Chuo 中央 line to Tokyo 東京(station) and
get a ticket for the Shinkansen* to Odawara.
Price: ¥3,300
Time: 66 minutes
*OR save some money
by taking Odakyu's Super Hakone Express from Shinjuku straight to Odawara for ¥1,720 (66 minutes). The cars are called
"romance cars" because you pretty much have to go with a buddy as the seats are doubled up (meaning there's seating for two
instead of individual seats with armrests on the train).
Getting
There - Nikko - Tobu-Nikko
From Shinjuku
新宿 - Take the Nikko 日光 or Kinugawa 鬼怒川Express Train to Tobu-Nikko 東武日光 (some times require transfer at Shimo-Imaichi,
check timetable below).
From Nakano
中野 - Take the Chuo 中央 line or Chuo-Sobu 中央総武 line to Shinjuku 新宿 then take the Nikko 日光 or Kinugawa 鬼怒川 Express train to Tobu-Nikko
東武日光 (some times
require transfer at Shimo-Imaichi, check timetable below).
Of note: the JR East pass has a limited
time offer for Sep 1- Nov 30 of 2010 to include 3 non-consecutive days on all JR lines (including the two Shinkansen
rides above) for 10,000 ($100), so if you were planning on taking both trips and you're going to be there during that time,
it would definitely be worth the price. Click the link below for more information.
