Nikko National Park

We walked into the Nikko shrine early in the morning, having stayed in a hotel just a stonethrow from the shrine. The very first sight was the Sanbutsudo covered by a huge building erected to protect it during the renovation, which would continue for almost a decade. Things were much better inside as we walked through the Toshogu, Futurasan and …

Our final days brought us back to Tokyo where we started making a full circle. We did take one last day trip to Nikko a 2 hour train ride outside of Tokyo. This area was full on great shrines and temples to see, but I was most excited about seeing the See, Hear, Speak No Evil Monkeys. A girl, actually named America, had told me in the hostel in …

... to head out to Nikko. Nikko is the name of small town located in the Tochigi Prefecture Mountains. It houses the Nikko National Park which contains the Toshogu Shrine, the largest shrine in Japan. Everyone I talked to before coming to Tokyo said ...

... that Nikko is one of the famous places in Japan that make up what is called the Romantic Road. It is a National Park, thus the whole region is protected. It's a good thing because the mountians, wildlife, history, waterfalls, and vegetation ...

... crossed over a deep canyon lined with trees in their autumn goodness.  Right behind the bridge was the entrance to the Nikko national park.  Up some steps and through some sacred gates, we made ourselves to the first temple - Rinno-ji.  ...

... the bridge and then turn around and backtrack to exit). On the far side of the bridge is the entrance to Nikko National Park. I wandered up the side of the mountain, ending up at Rinnoji Temple-Sanbutudo. Within the temple were beautiful golden ...

... non l'ho ancora capito. Un paio d'ore su un trenino, che non e' proprio come lo shinkansen dell'altro giorno, ed arrivo a Nikko, favoloso complesso di templi buddhisti immersi in un parco nazionale. Sono venuto qui anche per godermi un po' di pace e ...

... Just the coffee was a bit bizarre with it :-) Then headed out despite the rain (much stronger than the day before) to explore Nikko National Park. the original plan had been to go for a hike - well, I abandoned that before I had even left the house, ...

Nikko National Park has multiple temples that were founded and built from the early 1600s onward.  The site is probably most famous to most Westerners as the location of the hear/see/speak no evil monkeys on a small, unadorned building in Toshogu ...

Today a walk through the famous (and Ramsar listed) Oze National Park ...

... its preservation of Japan's past and its successful blending of modern life. An ice rink is just minutes away from Nikko National Park. World Heritage sites are close to the downtown shops which showcase centuries-old woodblock carvings and ...

... Canadians soon headed off to a nearby onsen whereas we went to stroll around the World Heritage temples which were located in the Nikko National Park. The area was amazing and we paid to get in one of the temples for 200yen. After spending a ...