Nikko
We travel about two hours north of Tokyo to the cedar forests of the Nikko mountains, home to Japan's most lavishly decorated shrine complex. Tosho-gu was built as the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the shogun who unified the country, and every surface of its gates is carved, lacquered and gilded. The day pairs that concentrated craftsmanship with the landscape above the town: the vermilion Shinkyo Bridge over the river, the yuba tofu-skin cuisine the monks developed here, and in the afternoon Kegon Falls and Lake Chuzenji on the plateau, before we return to Tokyo. Nikko is at altitude, so the air is cooler and the autumn colours arrive weeks before Tokyo's.
Who it suits
Travellers drawn to history, architecture and mountain scenery in one day.
Highlights
Tosho-gu, Shinkyo Bridge, Kegon Falls and Lake Chuzenji.
Local flavors
About ten hours door to door. Outside Tokyo, so the travel surcharge applies. Comfortable shoes and a jacket.
Asakusa Station
5 minWe meet at Asakusa Station, where the direct limited express to Nikko departs. Reserved seats mean the two-hour ride north is a comfortable start to the day.
Tosho-gu Shrine
1 hour 15 minThe Yomeimon gate alone carries over five hundred carvings — dragons, sages, peonies — and behind it lie the halls and the stone stairway to Ieyasu's tomb. We also find the original three wise monkeys and the sleeping cat, both small carvings that are easy to walk past.
Rinno-ji Temple
30 minNikko's principal Buddhist temple, where three gilded statues stand eight metres tall in the main hall. It is the quiet counterweight to Tosho-gu's exuberance.
Shinkyo Bridge
15 minThe vermilion bridge across the Daiya River marks the entrance to the sacred precinct. For centuries only the shogun and imperial messengers were allowed to cross it.
Lunch — yuba cuisine
1 hourYuba, the delicate skin that forms on simmering soy milk, was developed as temple food for the monks here and is still Nikko's speciality. A set lunch presents it half a dozen ways, from sashimi-style to simmered.
Kegon Falls
40 minWater from Lake Chuzenji drops ninety-seven metres into the gorge below. A lift takes us to the viewing platform at the base, where the spray and the noise make the scale obvious.
Lake Chuzenji
30 minA crater lake at twelve hundred metres, formed when Mount Nantai erupted and dammed the valley. We walk the shore before the road back down the hairpin bends.
Asakusa Station
5 minBack in Tokyo in the evening, at the same station where the day began.
Ready to experience this journey?