Undiscovered Tochigi | Beyond Nikko on a 2-day trip from Tokyo | japan-guide.com

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In this 2-Day Trip we explore some undiscovered parts of Tochigi Prefecture.

– Chapters –
0:00 Introduction
01:51 Travel to Mount Nasudake
02:48 Mount Chausu
03:23 Killing Stone
04:01 Shika No Yu
04:39 N’s YARD
05:41 Sansuikaku Ryokan
06:50 Day 2
07:23 Oya History Museum
08:23 Oya Temple
09:37 Wakayama Bamboo Forest
11:15 Utsunomiya Minmin
11:54 Outro

– Video Credits –
Host & Narrator: Matt Evans
Videographer: Thomas Roennlund
Producers: Stefan Schauwecker

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This is tochigi prefecture located to the north of Tokyo it’s a part of Japan best known to visitors for the spectacular shrines and temples at Nico but as we’ll show in this video there is far more to see and do here besides from mountain peaks to Subterranean caverns

And remote rustic Hot Springs to Cutting Edge contemporary art here’s the plan on day one we’ll take the shinkansen from Tokyo to the nasu area of tochigi where we’ll climb to the summit of an active volcano bathe in a rustic local hot spring and make a stop

At a modern art gallery before staying the night at a traditional Inn on day two we’ll be looking at the area surrounding toi’s prefectural capital of UT anomia City we’ll begin with a visit to a mind-blowing former underground stone quarry then take a relaxing stroll around a bamboo forest and end our trip

Sampling the local favorite of guza in the city center my name is Matt Evans join me on a two-day tour of toi’s lesser known Highlights arriving at naso shabara station will change to a local bus to the nasu ropeway from where a 40-minute climb will take us to the summit of Mount chalu one of Mount nasak his Peaks another bus ride will bring us to the lovely traditional Bath House of shouu

And the killing Stone a local spot with a surprising backstory next we’ll take a taxi to the Modern Art Gallery n’s yard and again to our accommodation for the night at the Sansui kakur Yokan ranked as one of Japan’s 100 most famous mountain mountains nasake is in fact a cluster of five complex volcanoes of the five chudake is the only one currently active and reaches 1,915 m above sea level we’ve taken the easy way by riding the ropeway but for climbers looking for

A bit more of a challenge there is also a well-maintained walking route leading all the way up from the bottom and with a moderate level of Fitness it’s very possible to reach three of the major Peaks all in one day As we approach the summit along the Steep Winding Trail more of the surrounding Peaks come into view creating an incredible Panorama so here we are at the top of Mount chalu really wonderful views in every direction and behind me we can make out Mount aahi and mount sari the other two major peaks in the nasu range after taking a few minutes to enjoy the summit it’s time to retrace our steps to

The upper station and take the ropeway back down the mountain Side on our way to shano Yu we drop by another fascinating spot The Killing Stone according to Legend there was once an evil sorceress whose True Form was a nine-tailed fox after a lifetime of evildoing she was finally killed by an army of Brave Warriors but her story

Doesn’t end there her soul entered this rock and it was said that anyone who approached the rock would be killed by the fumes it Emitted with a history going back around 1,300 years shikon noyu is the oldest hot spring in tochigi prefecture and still feeds many of the local ins to this day the best place to try out the acidic and milky water is the oldfashioned bath house of the same

Name I just love The Rustic atmosphere of the surroundings here there’s a definite sulfury smell to the water and one very unusual feature is that there are multiple baths each at different temperatures allowing bathers to choose the one that feels best from shikyou we take a 20-minute taxi

Ride to our next stop at n’s yard set in a very modern building in attractive Woody surroundings n’s yard is a gallery mainly dedicated to the artist Nara Yosh Tomo known for powerful portraits whose subjects seem to gaze back at the viewer producing new drawingss every day and his three-dimensional Works in ceramic

Bronze and other [Applause] [Applause] Materials visitors can enjoy a drink in the cafe check out the gallery Shop or take a stroll through the surrounding Garden We end our first day in tochigi at the sansu Kaku rokan located right by the Imperial family’s own NASA Retreat this Inn is an elegant mix of modern and traditional in a Timber building dating to the 1930s well this is just about the perfect way to wind down after a busy day of climbing and sightseeing I’ve been enjoying a gorgeous multi-course kaiseki meal with this local craft beer and next I’m going to check out the baths We Begin day two with a bus to Kuro station where we change to a train to UTSA from there we’ll make our way to the Oya Museum museum by local bus continue on to the bamboo forest by taxi and finally take a bus back to UTA to end our day with a guoa

Dinner once a major source of wealth for the region o stone is a beautiful and highly distinctive type of volcanic rock found only here in a few Square kilm near the town of Oya our visit begins in a small Museum introducing o Stone the tools used to mine it and models of

Buildings made from this unique material after looking around the exhibition space we descend 30 m to the Quarry floor a cavern spanning an incredible 20,000 sare M dug over the course of 70 years when the Quarry was still in operation of course of course numbers are one thing but the sheer sense of

Scale and atmosphere you get walking around in here is something else altogether Small Wonder then that it’s a regular location for music videos photo shoots and even Weddings Just a few steps from the museum is another fascinating spot the Oya temple built into the base of a cliff the temple features a series of wonderful relief sculptures carved directly into the rock face highlighting the strange beauty of this unique material especially striking is the Temple’s main object of devotion the Oya

Canon a carving of the many armed Buddhist deity of Mercy created in 810 but those aren’t the only Stone carvings worth seeing here just across from the temple stands this 27 M statue of Canon carved from the same distinctive oil Stone dedicated to those who lost their lives in the second world war and a symbol for the hope for world Piece next we jump in a taxi for a 10-minute ride to our next stop the wakayama bamboo forest located in the northern part of utam the wakayama bamboo forest is a massive 24 hectare expanse of bamboo and Chestnut trees lovingly maintained by the same family for over a 100 years While primarily managed for the purpose of growing bamboo shoots the farm also produces mature bamboo for a range of uses and is a regular setting for film and TV there really is something magical about bamboo from the way light seeps in through the tiny leaves to the sound it makes in the wind many of you will have been to the more famous bamboo Groves in arashiyama in Kyoto or maybe hoki in Kamakura but the space the scale the

Incredible care that’s gone into maintaining the forest here is just on another Level after a relaxing time exploring the bamboo forest it’s time time to make our way back into the center of UTS numia for one final Highlight GZA can be steamed boiled or fried but the most popular way to eat them is just like this fried until crispy and then served with a mixx of soy sauce rice vinegar and I like to add a little bit of chili Oil and that was our 2-day trip to tochigi prefecture thanks for joining joing me I hope you enjoyed this video and perhaps even have some new ideas for your next visit to Japan for more information about this trip or to watch another video click the links on the

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