If you are visiting Tokyo and want to get out of the mega city to see a historic site visiting Toshugo Shrine and temple in Nikko is a good idea. Here you can see a UNESCO heritage site and experience countryside Japan. You can do this as a one day event or stay a night in a hotel in Nikko. The most easy and affordable way to get from Tokyo to Nikko is by train, Shinkansen and Nikko line. I have rented a car and will drive there, it takes around two hours from central Tokyo.
The shrines and temples of Nikko, together with their natural surroundings, have for centuries been a sacred site known for its architectural and decorative masterpieces. They are closely associated with the history of the Tokugawa Shoguns.
Located in beautiful surroundings this is the pathway to the Nikko temple and shrines.
Toshogu Shrine (東照宮, Tōshōgū) is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. Ieyasu is enshrined at Toshogu as the deity Tosho Daigongen, “Great Deity of the East Shining Light”. Initially a relatively simple mausoleum, Toshogu was enlarged into the spectacular complex seen today by Ieyasu’s grandson Iemitsu during the first half of the 1600s.
The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf were used to decorate the buildings in a way not seen elsewhere in Japan, where simplicity has been traditionally stressed in shrine architecture.
The opening hours is from 8:00 to 17:00 (until 16:00 from November through March) Admission closes 30 minutes before closing time.
Back to Tokyo and enjoying dinner at this fish restaurant in Sangenjaya.
Waiting for the postman to arrive with the mail for today.
Japan Post delivers on time with this sweet motorbike. In 2007 Japan post had 400.000 employees and was the nations largest employer.
7 hours time difference between Japan and Norway, good to have the GMT function to avoid calling home in the middle of the night.
Well organized entrance to the train station, even not so smart people know where to go here.
The train returning to Sangenjaya station after delivering the rental car. If you are in Tokyo and want a day outside the city, visit Toshogu Shrine and temple in Nikko Japan.
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