Anyone know where that originated from.... Nikko, Japan! The famous 'Three Wise Monkeys' are depicted in a carving over a door on the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko, Japan and were done in the 17th Century. They are thought to incorporate Confuscious's Code of Conduct. The Toshogu Shrine was one of our stops on our tour of Nikko, Japan that kicked off around 0400 yesterday AM.
The Toshogu Shrine was amazing, it was one of the biggest shrines I have been to, and it is considered a World Heritage Site. It was truly remarkable and we spent about 2 hours there walking around and going into the different buildings. The main theme of this shrine (and many others all over Japan) is peace. There is a beautiful 5 story pagoda there (although it was so foggy you can barely see the top in this picture)... each story represents a different element: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Heaven! The colors of the paintings, the carving, and all the details were so amazingly ornate in each of the buildings! There are over 5200 carvings all with different messages located around this shrine. In one of the shrines temples we went into there were dragons painted all over the ceiling... there must have been at least 75 dragons and each one was in a different pose- absolutely gorgeous!
At this one we made wishes by throwing some yen into the big bowl, bowing twice, clapping twice (to wake up the gods), and then making your wish, and then bowing one more time in thanks! We even did the 207 stairs to climb through the forest to the top where there is a tomb with the remains of the person the shrine was dedicated to. I could definitely feel my legs and butt after doing all these stairs. Part of what was so beautiful about this shrine was the rich green moss on a lot of the old stones (as you can see on the stairway in this picture). Some of the shrine is being restored and we could watch as they painted all of the intricate details... the restoration is expected to take about 4 years! 
Another stop we made on our tour of Nikko (which is about a 3 hour drive from Yokosuka) was to the Yudaki Waterfall. To get to this beautiful waterfall we had to go up a very steep mountain with 48 switchbacks!!! I don't usually get car/bus sick, but with the bus twisting and turning it was hard not to! This waterfall was huge and the fall colors were absolutely gorgeous! It made me a little homesick for all the fall colors, smells, etc! We walked up the stairs to the top of the waterfall where there was a big lake and some sulfur hot springs (you know... the ones that smell like eggs)! It was a rainy day and the fog was so dense you could barely see the other side of the lake! One thing I missed (and probably said like 5 times throughout the day) was the crunching sound of the leaves! That is such a fall staple to hear all the leaves crunching as you walk and with the ground being wet with rain, the leaves were mostly slippery!
The rain had let up a little and I really wanted to throw some leaves up and let them fall on me (just like when I was little)!!! I grabbed a whole big handful of leaves (wet) to throw them up, but when leaves are wet, they all stick together and pretty much just came down on my head in a giant clump... not exactly what I was going for...We also stopped at the Kegon Waterfall... and you had to take an elevator to get down to the viewing area... it was pretty intense.. mostly because they pack the elevator before you go down!!! I'm sure this waterfall and surrounding landscapes would be just as magical as the other, but unfortunately the rain and fog had covered most of it...
you couldn't see the top of the waterfall and I couldn't get any pictures of the colors of the leaves to come out because of all the fog! We had a chance to walk around in the town while we were at this waterfall site and have lunch! For lunch I had Om rice... which is Japanese sticky rice, a tangy ketchup, onions, all covered with an egg and more ketchup (and usually there is chicken in it too). It was oishii! While we were there we also stopped at a place where this man did wood carvings... you could give him a name in English and he would translate it and carve it into the wood... he was so quick and his work was absolutely beautiful! All in all, it was a really great tour and a great day! The rain was a bummer because we couldn't see all the colors as clearly, but I think I will definitely do another trip to Nikko at some point!Japanese word of the day:
Yokoso: Welcome
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