Nikko Kouyou Trip - Preparation

Wanted to go somewhere to see the autumn colors this year.. Since Nikko was just 2 hours train ride away from Tokyo, I suggested it to a bunch of fellow Malaysians and they all agreed.. Thus in a way, I became the organizer for this trip.. :)

Then we all agreed to go there on 2 Nov since 03 Nov is a public holiday which we could use to rest.. The initial attendees were 6 including myself.. Then some of them wanted to ask their friends along and soon the group swelled to almost 10.. I didn't want to "take care" of these "friends of friends" so I told whomever who is bringing their friends to be "responsible" for them. I would just take care of the core 5.

Next was the itinerary drafting.. There is just too many places to visit in Nikko that it was for certain that we won't be able to see them all within one day.. After much discussion, we agreed to go to Kegon Waterfall, Toshogu Shrine and Rinnoji Temple.. Found the World Heritage Pass offered by Tobu Railway Co. at 3,600yen. It is a two-day pass which includes a round-trip train ride between Asakusa Station and Tobu-Nikko Station, entrance fees to 2 Shrines (Toshogu Shrine & Futarasan Shrine) and 1 Temple (Rinnoji Temple) and unlimited bus ride within central Nikko. Everyone had agreed to catch the 2nd earliest train at 6:20am so as to maximize our time there..

Thus it was decided that I will go to Asakusa to get the World Heritage Passes on Saturday for the group, since the passes are only available at the Tobu Sightseeing Service Center and it only opens from 7:45am to 5pm. So far so good.. The only left to do was to finalize the attendees..

Then two days before the trip, just when I need to confirm the attendance, problem began to pop up.. Some of the members were not able to meet up so early in the morning as they were staying far away from Asakusa. Thus the dilemma arises and a choice has to be made. We can either split the group into two, travel to Nikko separately and hope to meet up there, OR we choose a later departure time of 7am, instead of 6am.. If the group is split into two, there is almost next to impossible to meet up in Nikko, considering the weekend crowd.. While if we were to choose a later departure time, the chances of being stuck in a traffic jam on our way to Lake Chuzenji/Kegon Waterfall increases tremendously and we might not have enough time to visit the Toshogu Shrine and Rinnoji Temple..

The preference expressed by the group is split evenly for both... As much as I would like everyone to go together, that is not possible.. In the end, I decided to split the group into two. The first group of 5 would still assemble at 6am at Tobu Asakusa Station to catch the 6:20am train, while the latter group would be getting their own tickets or passes and make their own way to Nikko at a later time. Also, I had sent everyone a copy of the itinerary complete with all the transportation information and attraction guides.. This would give everyone an idea of what the trip would entail, especially now with 2 separate groups..

And then off we go!!