Plum Blossoms

Flowers are a big deal in Japan. People celebrate the blooming of various trees. Plum blossoms are an early spring bloom. I went with some of the dude's coworkers' wives to check them out. Gorgeous!

Nikko - Toshogu Shrine

The stairs up to the emperor's tomb were intense! We saw a little old lady going slowly up the stairs with a family member holding her hand. Japanese people are still very active when old. :)

Nikko - Taiyuinbyo Shrine

We walked through the Taiyuinbyo shrine while in Nikko, and we really enjoyed some of the artwork. When we were leaving, we saw some monks burning ema votive tablets.

Nikko - Rinnoji Temple

The Rinnoji temple was under construction when we were there. Some bugs ate the wood, so the temple was completely taken apart. Each piece was marked. The new temple will be really nice. We were still able to see statutes and artwork from the temple on display.

Nikko - Lake Chuzenji

This would be a beautiful spot to go in the spring or summer. There were paddle boats at the lake. We went up to the waterfall, but we only stayed long enough to take a selfie because it was so darn cold!

Nikko

We went to Nikko for the dude's birthday back in December, but it was rather cold! We should have known not to go north in the wintertime. We saw many World Heritage sites, a waterfall, and a sign that monkeys may bite us and steal our food if we carry plastic bags around the Lake Chuzeni area. We did not try going into an onsen (hot spring), even though these are quite popular. We just couldn't fathom being naked around strangers! Konbini lunch for the train ride

Married!

We've been back in Japan for a couple weeks after a very long trip to the States for our wedding. We saw his parents and my family, went to Portland for a mini honeymoon, and went to Houston to see friends. It was a long but fun 3 weeks. I will start updating here again. :)