We began an autumn visit to Japan with two close friends at Lake Chuzenji near the town of Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture. The lake sits at 1,270 m / 4,200 ft above sea level, and about 175 km / 110 mi north of Tokyo. It’s Japan’s highest elevation natural lake.
The lake is also called Sea of Happiness. It attracts visitors simply because it’s beautiful. We visited just as the very first autumn leaves were going red and gold. Another ten days or so, and the hillsides would be all color. And the shores of the lake clogged with visitors. We were fortunate to enjoy a balance of hints of color with peace and quiet.
Waterfalls up and downstream
One of the sources of Lake Chuzenji’s water flows along Ryuzu Falls. From the park sign: Ryuzu Falls is counted as one of the three famous waterfalls in Okunikko together with Kegon Falls and Yudaki Falls. This waterfall has a length of approximately 210 m 690 ft and a height of approximately 60 m / 200 ft. It is said that the name of this waterfall which literally means “Dragon Head Falls” in Japanese was derived by likening its appearance seen from the front to a dragon’s head and also by likening its two-pronged flow to its beard.
Mostly, the pathway along the cascades was a lovely excuse to enjoy the cool autumn air and colors of the season.
The water of the lake flows out in even more dramatic fashion via the 100 m / 330 ft high Kegon Waterfall. Kegon Falls is the most famous of Nikko’s 48 waterfalls. Apparently Japanese consensus considers this particular waterfall as among the top three most beautiful waterfalls of the country. (The other two are Nachi Waterfall in Wakayama Prefecture, and Fukuroda Waterfall in Ibaraki Prefecture — note taken for our next visit to Japan.)
On you mark, get set, fish!
When we awoke after our night in the hotel beside the lake, we saw a collection of boats floating still on the water. Apparently, fishing can only start at 8 am. Indeed, at precisely 8, the lake hit the play button and off the boats went.
Yuba
The folks who live around Nikko and Lake Chuzenji take pride in a very specific form of tofu. It’s called Yuba. Yuba is like that skin that forms on the top of a pot of tomato soup – only in this case on top of a pot of forming tofu, and it’s much much better. It looks a little like delicate pastry layers of eggs. It tastes just as delicate, and depends, like all forms of tofu, on the foods that accompany it.
From an article about Ebiya Chozo, a local yuba manufacturer that has been producing yuba since 1872:
“Nikko yuba began as an offering to temples and shrines. A rolled yuba called shinomaki yuba was offered by placing it on a pedestaled bowl, and it was cooked after the festival for everyone to enjoy. Yuba is also a Buddhist vegetarian ingredient,” says the sixth-generation head of the business, Naoki Mori. He says that yuba, made with water flowing down the sacred mountains, gradually turned from an offering to a food enjoyed at home, and it took roots in the local food culture. He also says that it is an essential ingredient for cooking dishes for New Year’s day and celebrations
(source)
Everywhere we went, restaurant signs announced their yuba specialties. We’d ask our Japanese hosts what some building-front sign meant, and the answer was often, “Yuba!” After a while, we just asked, “Yuba?” Response: “Yuba.” A few of our kaiseki menus featured yuba throughout the many courses. (You’ll see in our One More Bite section, below.)
Monkey Magic Melody Road
Our friends rented a car for the four of us for the drive up and back down the mountain to Lake Chuzenji. The route includes one set of dozens of tight one-way hairpin turns up, and another set back down. Just as we were finishing with the last downhill hairpin turn, our friends said, “Listen for the musical road.” We asked, “There’s someone playing music?” “No,” came the response, “the road is musical. It’s the Monkey Magic Melody road!” OK? Maybe there’s a translation issue here.
And then, we started rolling over a set of road-surface ridges, like the kinds that you find when a town wants you to pay attention to a slower speed limit. But in this case, the spacing of the ridges made the tires sing a tune. Really! A deep rumble of the 1970’s tune, Monkey Magic! We’d never heard of it, but our hosts knew it well: they sang along with our YouTube link.
We didn’t know what was coming, so we don’t have video of our own to share. But this one on YouTube gives an idea, along with some explanation.
You can follow this link for a bit of the actual Monkey Magic Melody Road. It’s subtle, so listen closely.
The Melody Road made us wonder: Why don’t more roads sing?
Our hotel offered a delicious, elaborate, and beautiful kaiseki dinner — including yuba, of course. Here’s the menu:
And the dishes:
Breakfast wasn’t bad either:
While we don’t usually showcase the hotels we stay in, sometimes we think you might enjoy a glimpse of this part of our stay. In this case, our friends arranged for us to stay in a lovely hotel overlooking the lake: the KAI Nikko. We want to show you an example of a hotel room with a very nice mix of traditional Japanese and contemporary Western design — with a great view, too.
October 2023