The Imperials in Nikko
To the mountains
Nikko is another place that’s not too far from Tokyo; a place that many take a weekend trip to. We spent a week visiting that area.
We stayed outside of the main town, along a single-track train line that only came two or three times per hour.
We first visited Ryuokyo Gorge, which was surprisingly scenic. The gorge is supposed to look like a violent dragon, from which it gets its name. When we visited the water was pretty calm, but we could still make out the slithering pattern.
What captivated us was the crystalline turquoise water. It looked like an excellent place to swim, if it were warm enough, but since it is a national park, I doubt that swimming would be allowed.
There are a few walking trails and we chose to do a 1.5-hour loop back to the same spot. Some of the other trails take 6 hours to complete and go all the way to the next town up the river.
The main town of Nikko was once a Shinto and Buddhist center, and while many of the tourists come to see the shrines and temples, we went first to the Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park.
Part of the villa originally stood in Tokyo but was moved to Nikko in 1899. It is a blend of Edo and Meiji period architecture and has 106 rooms. We were surprised when no one got off the bus with us to see the villa, but that turned out to be really nice — it was great to have nearly the entire palace to ourselves.
It was extremely cold that morning and shoes aren’t allowed inside, so our feet were freezing as we made our way throughout the villa. The villa is unique because it has quite a few western influences, including carpets, running water, and furniture; yet, the building is still distinctly Japanese in construction.
We spent some time sitting on the verandas, soaking up the sun and warming our toes.
The surrounding gardens were nice, but it was the building that was the most attractive. The attention to detail is unparalleled; there were intricate paintings on sliding doors and decorative wooden railings.
In contrast, the more popular attractions that we visited later that day — Toshogu Shrine, Futarasan Shrine, and Rinnoji Temple — were places we were quick to vacate. There were just too many people for us to really enjoy our time.
Toshogu Shrine is the most ornamental shrine in Japan and houses the grave of Ieyasu Tokugawa, the Shogu who united Japan. It was incredibly crowded and extremely expensive. The 1,300 yen entrance fee is the highest we’ve ever seen at a shrine. Beside the prayer boxes, where people typically throw 1 or 5 yen in before praying, there are QR codes for digital money collection. It seemed like a money grab and I mulled over whether the kami (gods) were still around because they place didn’t really seem too spiritual anymore. With that said, it was cool to see the grave of the most famous ruler of Japan. We’ve heard and read so much about him in our travels throughout the entire country.
Almost all of the temples and shrines around Nikko have a steep entrance fee (around 550 yen). In contrast, Kyoto, the spiritual center of Japan, only has entrance fees for the most prestigious places. In fact, some of the most notable shrines are completely free.
Before coming to Nikko, I wondered if it would be a good alternative to Kyoto for seeing shrines and temples; after finding out how expensive everything is, I’m not surprised that most foreign tourists visit Kyoto and have never heard of Nikko. Kyoto also offers the convenience of city comforts.
Even this spiritual bridge has an entrance fee if you want to stand on it, though it seems like very few people do so since the best pictures are from the outside. I was able to get some good photos just before my camera battery died. Good thing it was the last stop of the day!
