Nikko - Toshogu Shrine, Lunch at Yasai Cafe Meguri, and the "Venus of Gyoza" at Utsunomiya Station

We had made the walk up from the train station and into Nikko National Park. We walked up the stone stairs past the walls gilded with moss. It was a lot to take in. On a misty day like this was; walking past moss covered stone lanterns, there is a feeling you get, mystery....wonder....like you've wandered onto a set of some movie.....

We were only spending the day in Nikko, so other than the Shinkyo Bridge, our main focus was on visiting Toshogu Shrine where Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shogun and founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate which ruled Japan for over 250 years, is supposed to be buried.

There is quite a bit to see here. Among my favorites were the Sanjinku, the Three Sacred Storehouses. Which were lined with gold leaf......hard to believe these were storehouses.

My favorite feature were the carvings of elephants that adorn the Kamijinko  (Upper Sacred Storehouse), which look like they came out of some Sci-fi comic.

These are called the Sozonozo Elephants (“imagined elephants”), as the artist who carved these, Kano Tanyu had never seen an elephant. Working from descriptions of the beasts he created this interpretation of what he "imagined" elephants looked like.

Right across from these structures is the Shinkyusha (the "Sacred Stable").

Notice all the folks taking photos here. It's because of the eight panels of monkeys lining the structure. The monkeys are depicting the lives of humans.

Especially popular is the Sanzaru ("Three Wise Monkeys").

You know the saying, right? "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil." Which I've been told are also three of the principles of Tendai Buddhism.

And then it was past the gate and up the stairs to the Yomeimon Gate.

Man, there was a lot to see here.....

From here 200 stone steps leads you up to Ieyasu Tokugawa's Tomb.

Man, that mist sure added to the atmosphere...…

After this we headed back down past all the other visitors; even some four legged ones.

Half the fun was people watching...….I guess the hill was kind of steep for some as they seemed to need a little boost.

We walked down the path to Futarasan Shrine...where the fog was really thick. Along with being the oldest shrine in Nikko, the area around the shrine is known for something else.

There is a tree near the gate of the shrine where a cedar and oak have joined together. This has come to be known as the matchmaking tree; you leave an offering for good luck in your relationship.

At this point, the Missus and I determined that it was a good time to head on back down the street and grab some lunch. Our philosophy when we travel is always to see the one or two things that are important to us; the rest is gravy. We always treat a destination as if we'll be returning someday.

We headed back down the street in the direction of the train station. Along the way; we saw this building.

Which definitely was not a "art and curios" shop as folks were eating inside. A quick search on Google Maps determined that this was Yasai Café Meguri, a vegan/organic restaurant. I looked at some of the photos and saw that the place served yuba bean curd; which I really enjoy. Plus, yuba is a specialty of Nikko.

So we decided to eat here. We entered, were warmly greeted, and led to our seats......which made the Missus crack up. It was my kryptonite...…..floor seating....

I've mentioned having to sit using tatami style seating before, my fear of having my legs fall asleep then trying to stand and destroying half a restaurant. Oh, the lovely noise of my joints snapping and popping as I sat on the floor.

Anyway, both the Missus and I got the Yuba Bean Curd Special.

We really didn't find this particularly to our taste. Everything was cold; including the rice under the yuba. The food was rather bland; the bean curd skin crunchy, but somewhat water-logged.

The thing we enjoyed the most about the dish was the green salad; the fresh, crisp bitter greens. 

Probably just not our kind of thing.

Yasai Cafe Meguri
909-1 Nakahatsuishimachi
Nikko 321-140, Tochigi Prefecture

We made our way back to the JR Station. Got on our train and headed back to Tokyo. We did have an hour layover in Utsunomiya where I decided to search for a statue I'd read about; the Venus of Gyoza.

Walking just outside the station we found her, in all her beauty ummm creepieness uniqueness, a woman creature emerging out of a gyoza. The "Venus of Gyoza". After all, Utsonomiya is considered the "capital of gyoza" in Japan. You can read about it in this article. Over the years; I've started to include one odd interesting place during our travels. And after all; this is still a food blog....and this has something to do with food, right?

The Missus was kind enough to humor me. Then we went back into the station and did some shopping (looking for local snacks) before our train arrived. On time as usual; after all, this was Japan!

Thanks for reading!

Comments

[Junichi]

Did you catch a glimpse of the famous sleeping cat in Nikko?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemuri-neko

Last time I was in Japan I stopped in Utsunomiya too to grab a quick gyoza lunch. Most of the famous shops had a line. Had to settle on a chain restaurant and it was underwhelming.

[Kirk]

I actually have a photo of that somewhere Junichi! The restaurants all had lines so we didn't have a chance to eat in Utsunomiya.

[kat]

the fog really adds to the adventure!

[Kirk]

It sure does Kat!

[Soo]

Love the photos of shrines and bridges from the Tokugawa era. I learned all about the shogunate reading The Lone Wolf + Cub when I was a kid.

[Kirk]

It's really a great place to visit Soo!