Today we went for a walk, one that I discovered at the very beginning of our trip planning and was determined to include, so fortunately we woke to a beautiful day with no sign of yesterday’s drizzle.
Another bus …
… and it soon started climbing with tight hairpins bends, up to Lake Chūzenji at around 1200m. It was created 20,000 years ago when Mount Nantai erupted and blocked the river and formed Kegon Falls. It would have been tempting to stop, but we continued to Ryuzu Falls where our walk starts.
The water descends 210 metres over terraces of volcanic rock from a historic eruption of Mount Nantai, and is pretty impressive!
We walked up the side of the falls …
… and at the to top we could see Lake Chūzenji in the distance.
Over the road, the path entered woods with short bamboo growing underneath …
… and as we went further, signs that autumn is on its way.
We were pleased to see we were still on track …
… and a little later we entered the Senjogahara marshlands where the path changed to a boardwalk as it followed the Yukawa River.
It skirted the grassy plateau, apparently with the imposing Mt Nantai in the background to the east, if only the cloud would lift!
Signs along the way told us how beautiful it was early in the year with daylilies, cotton grass and pink wildflowers and also how the autumn grass turns red, but we found it lovely nonetheless.
Another wooded section, and walkers coming towards us were wearing bells, so the peace was disturbed by an irritating tinkling! We realised it was to ward off bears, which might live here but truthfully we were unlikely to see. We were confused at a junction as there was a detour and continued walking with Luke and Teresa, a couple from the Czech Republic. Teresa was slightly concerned about seeing a bear, especially when we reached the bear warning bell …
… but between us we made plenty of noise and she was reassured by our confidence!
The next highlight was the Yudaki waterfall which is massive, with the Yukawa River descending 75m over the length of the falls.
Having taken pictures then walked up winding stairs to the top we were catching our breath as Luka & Tereza caught us up.
Not only had Tereza brought me a little hikers bear bell to thank me for reassuring her … but Luka had proposed in front of the falls!!! We were the first to congratulate them and wish them every happiness in their life together.
Yunoko Lake is at the top of the falls …
… and we walked round the edge to reach Yumoto Onsen where a final treat was in store.
Having clocked up around 8 miles, the sight of the free public footbath was a welcome one. Chris was dubious and watched as I removed my shoes and plunged my weary feet into the hot faintly sulphurous water.
My glee won him over and he joined me!
It was a long bus ride back, but fortunately we had seats unlike some of the poor passengers, rocking back and forth as we descended the hairpin bends back to Nikko. An idle thought during the journey was how the tone and intonation of the bus announcements sound just like Linda in the TV show Ann Droid with Diane Morgan & Sue Johnston! Again, we opted for an early meal and returned to Taj Nikko for more veggie curry.
Our stay in Nikko was nearly over, but just time for one more onsen before bed. In the morning, the sun was shining so we couldn’t resist a couple more photos before the longest journey of our trip, south to Kyoto.
(Chris spotted this chap while we were having breakfast and took this great shot!)
