Road Trip!

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. It seemed like an even better idea after we finally received our car, despite all the twists, turns, and mind-boggling hoops it took to obtain the otherwise ordinary hunk of metal (a ridiculous story in & of itself). It was time to break free of the three-week rut we’d been in and actually GO somewhere and DO something without getting soaked in the process. Two words folks… ROAD TRIP!

The words “road trip” conjure up fond memories of journeys past- racing through the cornfields of Nebraska on the way to a wedding, jimmying open the car door early one morning in Washington State (after one of our fearless leaders managed to lock the keys inside after everyone spilled out into the restroom), dreaming for the day when Kansas would be bodily ejected from its current position and attached to the end of California, thus shortening our travels to Missouri considerably… the list goes on. It was time to create such memories here in Japan.

At this point you’re probably asking yourself the following:

* They drive on the left-side of the road in Japan, don’t they?
Yes they do.

* Have you ever driven on the left-side of the road?
No we haven’t.

* How long have you had the car?
Let’s see, we received it last Wednesday… so less than a week.

* You can’t possibly be used to driving there yet!
Not in the least, but I have the utmost confidence in my husband’s ability to adapt.

*Aren’t you afraid for your lives??
Very much so. The Japanese are insane crazy drivers with a serious disregard for those around them. We half expect a mostly-blind old guy to pull right out in front of us in his K-car death trap from a side street that you don’t have a clue exists until you blow past it. Or hit the said car. At 70 km/hr. Because you have to pay atrocious fees to use the highways, and all the other main (and free) roads go right through towns and neighborhoods. So people are walking along the sides of the (narrow) main road. Or in the middle of the road. Because the roads have no sidewalks.

*Right. So you’re going to travel halfway across the country because…?
Have I mentioned that you’re in just as much danger when walking or bicycling from the drivers as being a driver yourself (due to the lack of sidewalks)? All of the above transportation methods probably have about the same safety factor. Besides, what’s the use of having a car if you don’t take advantage of the mobility surge it bestows?

*Okay… so what romantic, picturesque location have you decided to visit, while keeping in mind that you don’t know the language, thus making all the twists & turns absurdly difficult to navigate?
Someplace in the mountains… at high elevation… to hike into unspoiled forest… and watch the fall leaves shed their green adornment in favor of the brilliant hues of red, orange, and yellow.

What?!? We *are* from Colorado!

And so we began to plan our weekend expedition into the very-well charted mountainous regions of central Honshu.

Destination: Nikko