Nikko - visiting Tokugawa

With a long weekend ahead and no real plans, I came up with the idea of going to Nikko. So I invited my friend Fumi along, who seemed equally spontaneous. With a two-hour train ride
from Asakusa, I had to get up early in order to make it all the way before midday. Of course, this was a rather ambitious plan which we of course werent able to achieve. It was 12.30pm before we arrived, giving us about 3 hours before the temples closed to public.

Wasting no time, we headed straight for Toshogu, being the most famous of all. A (squeezing) 10-min bus ride took us all the way to the gates - undistiungishable by the number of tourists being about. They had their reasons for being here, the temple entrance at first sight being totally inviting with its brilliant carvings and its roofs reflecting the sun.

We passed the shrine which bears a carving of the three wise monkeys, who hear, speak and see no evil, a traditional symbol in Chinese and Japanese culture. The most amazing thing however was the Nikko Toshogu Gate which unfolded in front of us, with its golden shimmering roof - this being an awesome sight, that caused me going wild with my camera.

We then visited Tokugawa's tomb, which we reached after paying an additional fee and climbing some massive stairs. The tomb itself didnt look too impressive. However, after considering that Japan's most famous ruler was entombed here, it became impressive.

Our stomaches were pretty empty at the time we exited the temple. We decided to try some Yuba soba (japanese buckwheat noodle) - with one one soba shop around, the decision was fairly easy. The guy who ran the shop made the soba himself, thats why the noodles were all different in thickness and length. However, they had run out of yuba, which was unfortunate, but the self-made soba made up for it - a real difference in taste [compared to the ones made in a factory].

Finally, we continued on to Rinno-ji and Futarasan shrine, which seemed like the most ordinary temples/shrines compared to Tosho-gu - maybe we should have gone the opposite way :)

On our way back, we stopped at the famous Shinkyo- a red bridge, which 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. It looked impressive with the gorge underneath, partly covered in snow.

We didnt linger around for much longer - as it was freezing cold and most sights either closed or out of reach - and made our way back to the station, where we had another another local cuisine - a "anman", which looked more like a hot manju - either way it was super delicious.

I can only recommend a visit to Nikko, but suggest to stay for two days with a stay-over in one of the nearby onsen-hotels. That way, you will have a chance to see the waterfall and the nearby lake as well or do some hiking.