*In 1616, the dying Shogun Tokugawa leyasu made it known that his final wish was for his successors to "Build a small shrine in Nikko and enshrine me as the God. I will be the guardian of peace keeping in Japan" As a result, Nikko became home of the mausoleums of the Tokugawa Shogun, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Unlike most Japanese temples & shrines, the buildings here are mlticolored carvings & plenty of gold leaf and show heavy Chinese influence. It is a forest of over 13,000 cedra trees, covering the entire area. *info from wikipedia Getting a Nikko Pass makes life easier, as it covers transportation and entrance fees. There are quite a variety of Nikko Passes though. I took the World Heritage Pass. I didn't go to Lake Chuzenji (waterfall) Had I chosen to go as well, just add in another Y1,000 (I think)
Toshogu : Th burial place of dynasty founder Tokugawa. The shrine took 2 years to complete with the efforts of 15,000 workers.
Name of the whole stretch of carving : Tozai SUkibe
Futarasan Shine
The most famous symbol in the Sacred Stable is the carving of 3 wise monkeys : Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil - Curious series of carvings about life cycle of a monke, from childhood to fearful old age. Interesting!
Shinkyo - is a much photographed red bridge that separates the shrines from the town of Nikko. In feudal times, only the shogun was permitted to cross the bridge and even today it's barred from pedestrian traffic. To set foot on the bridge, you'll have to buy a Y350 tickect. Our bus just passed by.
(around 30 photos in slide)
(around 18 photos in slide)
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