Day 4: mystical and magical. Who needs Disney when you can board a train and escape to a magical world in reality? The scenery from the train window helps the transformation from urban to this snowy wonderland in the mountains. Yamadera has 1100 steps and they so graciously tell you how far you have gotten. The wind and snow were howling at us at the bottom, but determination helped us reach the top. Peaceful silence broken by screams - a traveler embarked with inadequate

Day 3: rainy days and Sundays.... a transportation day with a short hour peaceful diversion through Utsunomiya before Shinkansen to next pitstop in Sendai. A peaceful morning at the shrine and found the Buddha with three beans standing strong from the encroachment of urbanism. We are on our way from Kanuma to Sendai catching the Shinkansen in Utsonomiya. This little map shows the Nikko line from that main hub. It's a rainy day with damp glistening streets. One of the things t