Mark Johnston Photography

6 Aug 2010: Nikko 日光

Nikko is probably one of the better-known tourist destinations near Tokyo, just an hour away on the express train from Asakusa station.

It is where the first of the Tokugawa Shoguns, Ieyasu, is enshrined, and a magnificent Shinto temple called "Toshogu" [東照宮] stands among the massive cedars above the town.

Within Toshogu, among the most magnificent structures is the Yomeimon Gate - also called the "higurashi" gate [日暮の門], meaning "spend all day" gate - with over 500 intricate carvings of human characters, dragons, and more, the idea is that you could spend all day staring and still not really see everything that is there.

Below, a gentleman riding a dragon. Good work if you can get it - but judging from the expression on his face, it is not as routine as riding the train. [This sculpture is located within the area bounded by the green outline in this image of Yomeimon Gate.]

There are other great temples within a few minutes walk of Toshogu, but there is also great natural beauty. An hour on the bus gets you further up in the hills to Chuzenji Lake, and if you keep climbing, you reach the moor of Senjo ga Hara and Yunoko [lake] beyond.

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This page last modified: 10 December 2010.