As we arrive it starts raining heavily and we have some trouble to find the hotel but in the end we stop and ask and it actually is our hotel. Actually not a hotel as we decided to stay the night at a ryokan, a typical Japanese inn. We are aware but still taken a bit aback that we have to take our shoes off at the entrance to the ryokan as we were hoping that this will happen only at the entrance to our room. Luckily there is appropriate footwear at the entrance but it is a bit difficult to carry the luggage in flipflops. To use almost anything in the room you have to sit at ground level, the chairs and table being so low and the comforter for the bed being laid directly on the ground.
There is hot water in the tea kettle to make tea and we also have a refrigerator. The one thing we really wanted and took a bit to find in a ryokan is a private toilet which as all Japanese toilets is a bit more high tech than a normal US toilet.
After recuperating a bit we go to the lobby which also doubles as a shop to buy and warm something to eat. Full and tired we then retire to our room for the night as we have another full day tomorrow.
The sleep on the floor is strange and a bit uncomfortable but we are really tired so we have a good night sleep. In the morning the breakfast is included and it is a Japanese breakfast. We are not sure where it is served, initially thinking that it is in the room but there is a dining room where we are served immediately. The only problem is that we have to eat with chopsticks something that we never tried before. After a few tries however we can get the food to our mouth in most cases without falling on the way so we can now focus on the different foods that are part of the breakfast. Some of them are more or less usual like salad, eggs and tea (even though the tea is green tea) but some are less usual like fermented beans, soup and fish in multiple forms. Overall it is a good filling breakfast after we got used to it. And then it is time to visit the famous temples of Nikko.
