On Saturday, we made an excursion to Nikko, a small town north of Tokyo, a Buddhist-Shinto religious center from the 17th century. Marnie, Bill's sister and brother-in-law's friend from North Carolina, recommended we go there. It was a short Shinkansen (bullet) train ride with a local transfer and took us about 2 hours to get there. The Shinkansen train was very fast, very smooth, very quiet, and a great way to travel.On the local train, a young girl touched my arm and shyly excused herself, asking if I spoke English. The Japanese are usually very reserved, so for her to approach me was being quite bold, but she desperately wanted to use her English skills, which were quite primitive. We had to use a bit of sign language and word substitutions to understand one another, but what she knows about America is Los Angeles and the glamous movie life there. She never heard of San Francisco. She is 20 years old and on a two-month break from college spending her time in a judo group. On her way off the train, she gave me a little Snoopy on a chain, which I hung on my carry bag.
We spent the time in Nikko at two shrines, both within lovely park areas. It was one amazing beautifully carved and decorated shrine after another. 
We even came across a wedding taking place in one of the shrines. After several hours walking around and seeing the shrines, we found a great steak house for a late lunch. 
The alcoholic menu really tickled Bill, especially the price for a "glass" of wine (note the listing on the photo). Even my young friend on the train really didn't say "los angeles." She asked me about "ros angeres." It took a few trys on her part to make me understand she was saying Los Angeles.
