We left early in the morning of January 2 towards Nikko, a small town north of Tokyo. The train ride took over two hours because of the connections we had to do.
We arrived in Nikko and headed for the temples. The first stop was at Tosho-gu Shinto Shrine. This is a complex of different shrines including a five-storey pagoda as well as other temples. The highlight of the visit was the demonstration of the echo that a couple of pieces of wood produce when they are hit under the dragon’s mouth (called the crying of the dragon), however the echo does not produce anywhere else in the room.
We then visited the Rinno-ji Temple and although it was under restoration we had a good understanding of how impressive this temple is. They built a 7 or 8 storey warehouse around the whole temple to perform the restoration, which will take several years to complete. We were able to climb all the way to the top floor to see the restoration of the roof. Also, we could see the big Buddha which is the centre piece of the temple.
On the way back to town we stopped at Shinkyo Bridge, a very iconic bridge in Japan.
We headed back to Tokyo in the afternoon before missing the last train.
Nikko is magical! Peter and I went there with a guy from Rheon and were very well treated, ending the day with a visit to a onsen.
Yes, Nikko is magical.
I can’t imagine how good of a time you guys had at an onsen in this area, they look very nice and expensive.