Nikkō, Go Deeper
'Never say kekkō until you've seen Nikkō' — never say magnificent. Two hours from Tokyo, the shoguns hid their founder's tomb in a mountain forest and covered it in gold and carving. Above it wait waterfalls, a highland lake, and a gorge lined with a hundred silent Jizō.
- Tap Open in Google Maps on any place for live directions, transit, hours & reviews.
- Get an ICOCA / Suica IC card — tap on/off trains, subways & buses, no ticket needed.
- Carry some cash (¥) — many small shops, shrines & old streets are cash-only.
- Go early: the famous spots are calm and beautiful before ~9am.
Nikkō Tōshōgū
The mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the shogunate — the most lavishly decorated shrine in Japan, dripping with gold and 5,000 carvings, including the original 'see no evil' monkeys and the sleeping cat.
Shinkyō Bridge
A vermilion arch floating over the rushing Daiya River, one of Japan's three finest bridges. It once marked the sacred threshold of Nikkō — only priests and the shogun could cross.
Rinnō-ji
Nikkō's grand Buddhist temple, its main hall sheltering three enormous gold-lacquered Buddhas. The temple and shrines share a mountain that has been sacred since a monk climbed it in the 8th century.
Futarasan Shrine
The old shrine to the mountain gods that gave Nikkō its holiness, far quieter than the Tōshōgū beside it. Its avenue of towering cedars and mossy lanterns is the Nikkō the crowds forget.
Kanmangafuchi Abyss
A riverside path lined with a row of stone Jizō in red bibs, said to be uncountable — the 'bake-jizō' that change their number each time you tally them. Green, watery and almost always empty.
Kegon Falls
Lake Chūzenji spills 97 metres straight off the highland in Japan's most famous waterfall. An elevator drops to a platform at its foot, where the spray and the roar do the rest.
Lake Chūzenji
A crater lake at 1,270 metres, formed when Mt Nantai erupted, cool and pine-fringed even in summer. The higher Nikkō the Meiji elite escaped to — foreign embassies still keep villas on its shore.
Irohazaka Winding Road
Forty-eight hairpin bends climbing 440 metres to the highlands, each curve labelled with a letter of the old alphabet. In late October the whole mountainside turns red and gold around you.
Yudaki Falls & Yumoto
Deep in the highlands, a broad cascade tumbles from Lake Yunoko down to the marshes of Senjōgahara, with the milky sulphur springs of Yumoto onsen just above. Trail-country Nikkō, past where the buses turn back.
Plan this trip
Curated experiences (tea ceremonies, guided walks) and places to stay for this route.
Coming soon