The remote cottage was next to a fast flowing river, and the noises I heard during the night, I thought was just the river passing by. How wrong I was. It was a monsoon which had set in and was here for the day. Typical , the first day we were to be outside and it was raining harder than I have ever seen, with no sign of it letting up. In fact, if it had rained in the UK like that then it would have been declared a national disaster with low lying villages disappearing underwater. The Japanese simply shrugged this off and continued as if nothing was wrong sticking rigidly to the schedule. Despite the torrent of rain, we struggled to raise Angela, as this was the first night she hadn't spent sleeping next to her elderly host who apparently snored very loudly! We were taken into the Nikko national park, which I'm sure the views and scenery would have been fantastic, if you could have seen more than 50 metres in front of you. Driving through the park we stopped off at various natural beauty spots, notably the Ryuzu Falls and Kegoa Falls (the highest waterfall in Japan). We then visited the Rinno-Ji Temple and Toshu-gu Shrine. Both absolutely stunning buildings, but we were completely washed out . This did not deter the avid Japanese tourist as we were confronted by a sea of umbrellas everywhere were went! To round the evening off before we returned back to Saitama, we were treated to an Onsen. These are hot natural springs where the locals bathe naked. Although even this isn't as simple as it sounds. There are a string of rules and etiquette to follow before getting into and whilst in the Onsen. After 25 minutes, I was like a lobster and about to pass out so called it a day. Totally relaxed after my first Onsen experience. Throughout this experience, I felt like a hundred pairs of eyes were drilling holes in me as if to say "You're not from round 'ere". On returning back to Mr Okemoto, I was presented with a solid bronze samurai helmet as a gift. As if I didn't have enough problems with the weight of my luggage on the way out, it's going to be even more of a challenge on the way back! A great present if I can get it back.