June 2nd: Day two, Nikko

Our first stop, The Shinkyo. The Shinkyo, or the sacred bridge, is known to have existed already on the present site spanning the Daiya River in the Muromachi Period (according to remaining archival records) though the exact date of its construction is not clear. It was in 1636 that this bridge took on its present style as a vermilion-lacquered wooden bridge on massive stone piers piled down close to the riverbanks.

There are 48 waterfalls in Nikko, but Kegon waterfall is the most famous among these. The water falls from 97 meters high and you will enjoy natural beauty around the fall. Nachi waterfall in Wakayama prefecture, Fukuroda waterfall in Ibaragi prefecture and Kegon waterfall in Nikko are known as the finest three waterfalls of Japan. The name of the Kegon was derived from a part of Buddhist sutra.

People could not get close to the fall until 1900 when Gorobei Hoshino built a teahouse near the basin of the fall. It took him 7 years to build.

This is the Toshogu shrine, it was built in 1617 as the mausoleum of the Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was the first shogun in the Edo period.




Okusa Hoto, built to hold the remains of Tokugawa Ieyasu.





The Gojunoto, also part of the Toshogu shrine.