Where to go in Japan: Tochigi

A luxurious and popular location for vacationing. Simply rife with the elaborate and beautiful architecture of temples and shrines.

Nikko lies at the foot of Mt. Nyoho-san in the western part of Tochigi and it has developed as the temple town for Futara-san-jinja Shrine, Toshogu Shrine and Rin-no-ji Temple. There runs the Nikko-Suginamiki-Kaido (Nikko's Japanese- cedar-lined Road), which is designated as a natural monument. And the city forms a part of the Nikko National Park.

Toshogu Shrine is where the famous Shogun of the Edo Period in the 17th century, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was worshiped after his death. It became as luxurious and elaborates as it looks today when the grandson of Ieyasu, the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, reconstructed it. The engravings on the Yomei-mon Gate are especially overwhelming, provided with every luxury imaginable and redolent in gorgeous colors. The engravings of the three monkeys in Shinkyu-sha and the statue of Nemuri-neko, the sleeping cat, are also well known.

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