Category Archives: Nikko

29th February: Nikko – Traffic Chaos

Posted on October 12, 2012 by

Walking on past the Hachiman Temple, I saw a curious chain of events unfolding in front of me.  The truck you see above, an LNG tanker, had been slowly progressing up the hill when its wheels started spinning in the … Continue reading →

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29th February: Nikko – Hachiman Shrine

Posted on October 11, 2012 by

Here we are at the end of the Kanman Path, at an impressive pedestrian suspension bridge over the Kanmangafuchi Abyss. On the other side of the bridge there were a few more statues in a park, probably statues of Jizu … Continue reading →

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29th February: Nikko – Kanman Path

Posted on October 7, 2012 by

The morning of my last day in Japan…. The owner of the ryokan (accompanied by his collie) is shoveling snow from the pavement behind my rental car.  This was the coldest day with heavy snow falls that winter, or for … Continue reading →

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28th February: Nikko – Lake Chuzenji

Posted on October 2, 2012 by

At the side of Lake Chuzenji there were several flocks of waterbirds, probably hibernating and perhaps hoping for handouts from tourists. It was very cold and late in the afternoon, so they were quite still. There were more of these … Continue reading →

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28th February: Nikko – Nihon Romantic Highway

Posted on October 1, 2012 by

I continued towards Lake Yunoko along the curiously-named Nihon Romantic Highway.  The two images above show views across the Senjogahara Plateau,  which is a swampy floodplain when not covered in snow. Some kilometres further on, this is Yudaki Falls, which … Continue reading →

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28th February: Nikko – Ryuzu Falls

Posted on September 30, 2012 by

Ryuzu Falls is the other end of Lake Chuzenji from Kegon Falls. It is not nearly as large as Kegon Falls but quite charming in its own way. Its name means Dragon’s Head Falls, the idea being that it snakes … Continue reading →

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28th February: Nikko – Kegon Falls

Posted on September 29, 2012 by

The previous night I had hired a car, confident that this would be a fine day.  I headed off out the back of Nikko, up a very steep and winding road towards Lake Chuzenji.  Here, we are about two-thirds of … Continue reading →

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27th February: Nikko – Rinno-Ji

Posted on September 27, 2012 by

Rinno-Ji is the oldest Temple in Nikko, dating to 766AD.  Originally called Shihonryu-ji, it was renamed in the seventeenth century. It is said to hold some remarkable treasures, so I was interested to see it. I wandered around a large … Continue reading →

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27th February: Nikko – Tosho-gu

Posted on September 25, 2012 by

Not far from Taiyuin-byo is Tosho-gu.  This is the shrine of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun.  It was greatly expanded from the “small shrine” he requested to the grand complex you see today by his grandson Iemitsu.  The first … Continue reading →

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27th February: Nikko – Taiyu-In

Posted on September 2, 2012 by

I arrived at the Taiyu-In Mausoleum when it opened, which from memory was 9am.  Fortunately, there were very few people around at this time of day.  This is the Niomon Gate, the lowest gate.  The stone lanterns at the side … Continue reading →

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