Sunday, April 26 – transit from Sendai to Nikko

I’m back on a Shinkansen train again this morning, traveling south to Nikko. It’s a 75 minute trip; not worth a Gran Class ticket, but I did go with Green Class. The total cost of the ticket was 78 USD (the upgrade to Green cost 23 USD).

A view from the trip.

The bullet train got me to Utsunomiya; from there I transferred to a local train on to Nikko. The cost of that 45 minute trip was 5 USD.

The train from Utsunomiya to Nikko.

Nikko Train Station

Inside the station

I arrived around 2pm, and the owner of the apartment where I am staying, Sato, picked me up at the station. Very nice! It was a short 10 minute ride.

I’m staying at the Sumica Apartments; basically two apartments on the second floor of this building. My apartment is the window on the right, and the common entrance to both apartments is the door on the right.

The entrance to my apartment.

I’m staying for 3 nights.

109 USD/night

Sato provided me with a handy Nikko walking trail map, and it’s a nice afternoon. I’m heading out!

Just a few minutes walk from my apartment is the start of the trail – the Shinkyo Bridge.

According to legend, Buddhist monk Shodo, the first head priest of Nikko, asked the mountain deities for help crossing the Daiya River, at which point two snakes appeared and transformed into a bridge.

Upstream from the bridge.

This 3 mile trail is called the Kanman Path.

The Daiya River runs through Nikko.

Approaching the entrance to the Jiunji Temple grounds.

The temple was founded in 1654, but was destroyed by a flood in the early 20th century. It was rebuilt in 1973.

Reihikaku Pavilion

The temple complex includes a line of stone statues of Jizo, the Buddhist guardian deity.

The red bibs and hats placed on Japanese Buddhist figures symbolize protection for children, unborn babies, and travelers. The color red is believed to ward off evil spirits and illnesses.

Before the flood of 1902 there were 100 statues here; 74 now remain.

(I kind of like this photo…)

Dainichi Bridge

Entrance to the Shakado Hall complex.

The grounds contain the Junshi Graves.

There are 24 large gravestones here.

They mark the final resting places of the chief vassals of the Tokugawa family from the early period of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1867).

Monday, April 27 – Nikko

Why Nikko? Well, it’s definitely NOT because it’s off-the-beaten path!

It is home to one of Japan’s best-known and opulent shrines – Toshogu. And the 103 religious buildings within two Shinto shrines and one Buddhist temple here are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There was heavy rain this morning, but by 10:30am it had lightened up enough to get out and explore (I only have a short time in Nikko!).

I had high expectations for my visit to Toshogu. It’s why I came to Nikko. I have to say I was generally let down though. Mainly due to the crowds at the site (even on this rainy day). It’s just where I’m at as a traveler; I prefer the less visited places. Kind of a sad commentary, right? About me!

(Spoiler alert!) There was one pleasant surprise awaiting me today however.

(In the following photos it may not look like there are a lot of visitors onsite, but that’s just a reflection of my patience (stubbornness!), and choice of subject matter)

Making my way up to the shrine complex.

I booked my ticket in advance online. The cost for entrance to the Toshogu Shrine and the Museum was 15 USD.

Sanbutsudo Hall, the main building of Rinno-ji Temple.

This Five-Story Pagoda is located at the entrance of Toshogu Shrine complex. Originally built in 1650 and rebuilt in 1818, it features earthquake-resistant technology with a suspended central pillar.

One of the more well known attractions of Toshogu is the Three Monkeys wood carvings.

Each monkey symbolizes a different aspect of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”. This proverbial phrase dates back to ancient Japan, stemming from Confucius.

There are 121 lanterns within the shrine complex, dating to the 17th century.

This candelabra was presented to the Shrine in 1636 by the Dutch government.

Yomeimon Gate; considered to be Japan’s most lavishly decorated gate. It contains 508 detailed carvings of children, elders and mythical beasts.

Climbing the 207 stone steps that lead to the Inner Shrine.

Tokugawa Ieyasu’s tomb in the Inner Shrine.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was a Japanese samurai, daimyo and the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1867.

(I visited the grave sites of the Tokugawa family vassals yesterday)

Slippery when wet!

Okay, now for my pleasant surprise on the visit…

…there’s a wedding taking place today at the Toshogu Shrine!

I like this picture which shows one of the wedding photographers taking a picture of the spectators. And there were many! (I was lucky in that I happened to notice what was going on before most of the others in the area, and snagged this prime viewing spot.)

The photographer even encouraged us to offer cheers of congratulations to the newlyweds!

I wonder what the process is to schedule a wedding at Toshogu Shrine?

Fun!

After the shrine visit I did a little walking around Nikko.

It’s a pretty small, and rather touristy town. But that’s okay.

This tram dates to the 1950s, when it operated here in Nikko.

Tuesday, April 28 – Nikko

I’m on a local bus this morning, traveling west to visit Lake Chuzenji.

At the bus stop near the lake.

I caught the bus at 8:35am in Nikko, and we arrived here at 9:20am. The round trip would have cost 2,500 JPY (15.75 USD), but I bought a 2 day unlimited bus pass for 2,300 JPY. So, even if I don’t take the bus anymore after this, I still save a couple hundred yen.

Sidenote: Do you notice that the plural of yen is…yen? 1 yen. 100 yen. 1 dollar. 100 dollars. I’m weird, I know! (It comes down to the fact that there are no plurals in the Japanese language.)

I’m going to do some hiking along the east shore of the lake.

Looking at the little village on the north shore of the lake. This area is still considered to be a part of Nikko.

You don’t see one of these very often! A Mercedes Benz Unimog.

I’m going to divert from my hike to visit the Chuzenji Temple. Entrance Fee: 500 JPY (3 USD).

Niomon Gate

The details of the founding of this temple are uncertain. The earliest mention of it in historical records is in 1141. It was located in the mountains at that time, but was destroyed in the typhoon and floods of 1902. The temple was subsequently rebuilt on this site.

Shoro

Hashiri Daikokutendo Hall

Hondo Main Hall

Making my way up to Godaido Hall.

The view from Godaido Hall.

Lake Chuzenji sits at a surface elevation of 1,300 m (4,100 ft), and is rather small, with a surface area of 2,900 acres. It is deep though, with a maximum depth of 500 feet.

(For those of you familiar with the lakes of Madison, Lake Monona is 3,300 acres, with a maximum depth of 75 feet. Oh, and an elevation of 800 feet!)

Mount Nantai. 2,486 meters = 8,156 feet.

Up ahead is the former British Embassy Villa.

The villa was built in 1896 as a private residence for a British diplomat.

It was subsequently used by the successive ambassadors as a villa for the British embassy until 2008.

Following a dismantlement and restoration, it was opened to the public in 2016.

Very nice!

A panorama from the shoreline, with the villa on the right.

A short walk from the British Villa is the Italian Embassy Villa.

The villa was designed by Antonin Raymond, and built in 1928.

The design of the Italian Embassy Villa is particularly unique in that it uses intricate cedar bark panels for both the interior and exterior walls.

The villa was used by the Italian Embassy until 1997.

The combined entry fee to both villas is 450 JPY (3 USD).

Sidenote: To me, the design of the Italian Villa looked very similar to Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. I was curious if there was a relationship between Raymond and Wright. And it turns out there was! Raymond and his wife, Noemi Pernessin, worked under Wright at his Taliesin estate in Wisconsin in 1916. When Wright was commissioned to design the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo in 1919, he brought Raymond to Japan to serve as his chief assistant. After working on the Imperial Hotel for about a year, Raymond left Wright’s firm in 1920 to open his own practice in Tokyo.

The villa’s pier.

The view of the villa from the pier.

Another panorama! From, you guessed it, the pier.

I’m doing an out-and-back hike, and this is my turnaround point. The little village that was at the start of my trek can be seen in the distance.

A few clouds have rolled in since I was here a while ago!

A view from the bus ride back to central Nikko.

Travel Note: For me, today’s tranquil hike was much more enjoyable than yesterday’s busy environment at the Toshogu Shrine. But, as you know, I’m weird.