Tochigi is located about two hours north of Tokyo. It is famous around the world for its numerous Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. These are the two biggest religions in Japan.
Our first stop on the trip was to the Oya History Museum. Almost 300 years ago, this huge cavern was used as a quarry to mine stone for temples. Today it is used as a place to go see events and concerts. It was very chilly inside but I didn't worry about it because I was too busy wondering how deep into the ground we were. It is a massive cavern!
We spent the night at Hotel New Shiobara and enjoyed the hot springs. The hotel was easier to get lost in than the cave because it was even bigger! In fact, it is connected to another building by a bridge. We got our very own yukata robes to relax in after soaking in the hot springs.
On the second day of the trip we drove up a mountain to Lake Chuzenji. That's right! It is on top of a mountain. Lake Chuzenji has the highest elevation of any Japanese body of water. At one point the fog surrounded the entire boat and it felt like we were inside of a cloud.
The final stop on the trip was to Nikko.
