Chapter 47 3. Sunlight snow viewing

On the weekend immediately after Valentine's Day, Hisaki and Rinko go to Nikko together. In order to fulfill Rinko's wish of watching the snow alone for a day, he looked for a suitable tourist spot, thinking that the Tohoku and Hokuriku areas are too far away, and in case of a heavy snowstorm, he will not be able to return, and the weather report said At the beginning of the weekend, there was a heavy snowstorm warning in Hokuriku, so I decided to go to Lake Chuzenji in Nikko, which is closer to Tokyo. Jiu Mu went to Chuzenji Lake in the severe winter more than ten years ago, and he could not forget the extremely quiet scenery of the lake in the embrace of the white snow-capped mountains.He wanted to spend a day with Rinko in that quiet place.

It was the first time for Rinko to go to Lake Chuzenji in the cold winter. I have only been to Nikko once in late summer. when? A long time ago, when I was in high school. What was Rinko like in high school?Is she the same pretty girl as now?Kuki secretly imagined. That time I was driving to Nikko, and the traffic was in a mess. Now this season there are almost no tourists. Rinko nodded, as if she suddenly remembered something. So what time should it be when we return to Tokyo tomorrow? Because the time for the return trip has not been decided yet, Hisaki asked. something? nothing

If you leave there at eleven o'clock and take the tram directly down the mountain, you will arrive at about two or three o'clock in the afternoon, right? Rinko thought for a moment, didn't ask any more questions, just nodded slightly. From Asakusa to Nikko, it takes two hours by express train. It was still clear when we set off from Tokyo after one o'clock in the afternoon, but the weather turned cloudy on the way, and it began to snow after passing Tochigi. Hisaki was wearing a sweater, a coat, a black overcoat and a crimson scarf.Rinko was wearing a black turtleneck sweater, trousers of the same color, a burgundy short coat, and a gray hat.Sitting side by side, the two still look like a couple rather than a husband and wife, perhaps because Rinko has an indescribably outstanding charm.

There was some wind outside, and the snowflakes were drifting obliquely. The dry fields, the roofs of farm houses, and the branches of trees surrounding the houses were covered with snow, like a gray and white ink painting. It feels like I'm in a far, far away place. Rinko looked out the car window and said softly.Indeed, in a world of ice and snow, the two deeply felt that they had come to a distant place.After three o'clock, the tram arrived at Tobu Nikko, from where they hailed a taxi and drove to Lake Chuzenji. On the way, when the car was driving up the Iroha slope with nine turns and eighteen turns, the steep rocks approached, and the snow fell on the edge of the cliff. Fine powder snow.

Let's go around the lake too! Hisaki asked the driver, and the driver stared at the front of the windshield where the wipers swung alternately and replied: The weather above and below is very different.According to what he said, across the Shirane Mountains across Lake Chuzenji, the wind blowing from the Sea of ​​Japan in the north will bring a lot of snow, while the snowfall in the south is very little. Even if it snows it's no big deal. Jiu Mu agreed with what the driver said, he quietly held Rinko's hand, and Rinko shook him back. The cliff approached the car again, as if to peek at them. It was Nantai Mountain, and the majestic and steep mountain was indeed worthy of its name.

Looking at the steep mountainside all the way, the wind on the mountain seems to have blown away the snow clouds. After climbing the slope, the snow has become smaller, as if waiting for them to come, the sky will soon clear up, and the sun will shine directly on the top of the head. It was not yet four o'clock, and there was still some time before sunset. It's a rare day when it clears up, let's go to see the waterfall first and then go to the hotel! Jiu Mu asked the driver to drive the car to Kegon Waterfall. The falls may have frozen over.The driver said, but the frozen waterfall might have something else interesting.

In order to see the full view of the 96-meter-high waterfall, one must take an elevator down a hundred meters. From there, through the tunnel, the Huayan Waterfall is suddenly in front of you. Just as the driver said, there are countless icicles hanging from the mouth of the waterfall with a width of tens of meters on the upper part of the high waterfall, forming a huge ice block partially covered with snow and partially clear and transparent.Looking carefully, the waterfall is still falling into the water deep in the ice, and some of them climbed over the rock and fell straight into the waterfall pool hundreds of meters below.

The waterfalls feel especially divine in winter. Rinko stuffed her hands into her coat pockets, looked at them for a while, then stretched out her right hand and pointed to the pillars protruding from the rock wall and asked: what is that? That should be a life-saving fence to prevent people from falling from above. A fan-shaped mesh is spread around the protruding pillars. Because this is a suicide resort. Because too many people used to climb the rocks to the entrance of the waterfall and jump into the pool to commit suicide, so now a protective fence is built around there to prevent people from approaching the entrance of the waterfall.

Once upon a time, there was an eighteen-year-old student from the First High School who committed suicide by jumping into a pool after leaving behind the words "day, incomprehensible". Does the incomprehensible he said refer to life? Maybe it refers to life, human beings, and things that are not clear after deep thinking! Rinko's silhouette, nodding in agreement, shone brightly in the slanting light of the setting sun. It was already 4:30 in the afternoon when we arrived at the hotel after seeing Keyan Waterfall.The room is a living room with 10 tatami mats plus a Japanese room suite. Outside the spacious balcony is Lake Chuzenji.

The two stood by the window looking at the lake, the lake was preparing to meet the sunset, mysterious and fascinating. As far as the eye can see, the steep Nantai Mountain is on the right in front, covered with cedar forests, and the snow on the ground is shining red in the setting sun.The foot of the mountain is connected to the Shirane Mountains in the distance, stretching to the left, and the mountains that spread out are also covered with snow. In winter, Lake Chuzenji is silent in the embrace of these mountains. There are no boats or people on the lake, as if this place has been such a quiet world since ancient times.

It's amazing! The words Rinko blurted out were not so beautiful, so beautiful, but so amazing!Kuki can understand.It seems that the scenery in front of me can only be described as amazing. There is a quiet and solemn beauty in the beauty, which makes people feel awe.The two stood still and stared at the lake for a long time, but saw that the lake was changing every moment. The snow-capped mountains that were dyed red earlier gradually faded, and finally turned into a monochromatic world of only black and white.Not only the hillsides reflecting the setting sun change in color, but the entire lake surface also turns from blue to blue, and gradually darkens. On the contrary, only the snow that adorns the lakeside becomes brighter in the twilight. Slowly and surely the surface of the lake was being swallowed up in darkness. Staring at this scene, Hisaki lightly put his hands on Rinko's shoulders, and waited for Rinko to turn around, kissing quietly. Kissing in front of the lake where the gods inhabit is cold, but at the same time it feels like swearing love before the gods. Afterwards, they sat together on the armchairs on the balcony, and saw that the surroundings were even darker, and the lake in winter also sank into the dark night, with only one lamp left by the lake, illuminating the surrounding snow as a white circle.