Nikko
26.09.2010 - 28.09.2010
My husband and I were in Nikko on 09/26 - 09/28. We stayed at the Nikko Park Lodge (Tobu Station). We could not have found a more convenient and centrally located place to stay. It is directly across the Tobu Railway Station, next to the post office, a supermarket about 200m away, and a number of restaurants all within 10m. The twin room with attached bath we rented even came with a small kitchen! Highly recommended.
My husband visited Nikko 16 years ago and was so impressed that he wanted me to see it. I was glad that we went, but it was a rather frustrating and somewhat disappointing experience. Some of Nikko's most renown temples have been designated as World Heritage Site, and they certainly deserved the designation. However, we are not sure if we will go back to Nikko anytime soon. The overwhelming impression we had was: the town is trying to squeeze every penny it could from the tourists. The one-way bus ride to the temples was 270 yens; and the 1300-yen all inclusive general admission ticket was definitely not all inclusive. In addition, visitors were blocked from getting within a few meters from some of the more important and impressive exhibits, not to mention having to compete with the thousands and thousand of other visitors - and this was on a rainy, Monday morning! The only consolation we had was: it was an equal-opportunity gouging for Japanese and non-Japanese tourists.
Since visiting Nikko was a last minute decision, we most probably had not done enough homework to find out if there are cheaper and more satisfying ways to see Nikko. Nevertheless, we cannot understand why Nikko's World Heritage Site is so exorbitantly expensive, if Kyomisu in Kyoto is free to all visitors and the admission to Chusonji in Hiraisumi is affordable.
Posted by woo123 04.10.2010 10:32 Archived in Japan Tagged nikkoparkworldheritagelodgesite(tobustation)
