Day 12, Nikko

The advice was to start early to avoid the crowds as much as possible. They probably mean: before sunrise, because at 9:30 in the morning it was already incredibly crowded. Especially the hundreds of schoolchildren created a small chaos. Anyway, I will first tell something about the history of Nikko. The story goes that in the 8th century a priest got carried across the river on the backs of two serpents. This does not happen every day, so he started building a temple and the town around it became Nikko. The serpents’ role in the story might be doubtful, but the spot is now marked with (the reconstruction of) a sacred bridge (see photo).

For centuries nothing happened. In 1603, a warrior called Ieyasu Tokugawa took control over all of Japan, for the first time in history. He became the Shogun, and ruled from Edo (now known as Tokyo). And of all places, he chose Nikko as the location to build his ‘mausoleum’. It became a complex of incredible splendor, and to this day it is a very popular tourist attraction. His grandson Iemitsu also decided to be buried in Nikko, and he too built a beautiful (but smaller) shrine. Furthermore, Nikko has been the location of the official retreat of the Imperial family for hundreds of years. And if that isn’t enough, it also lies at the edge of the Nikko National Park, a large area with beautiful mountains, forests and lakes. Basically, this means that it is always crowded in Nikko.

All the temples and shrines are conveniently located close together against a forested hill near the centre of Nikko. I first went to the Rinno-ji temple, and afterwards to the Tochogu (where Ieyasu was buried). Then to the original shrine of Nikko, and lastly to the mausoleum of the grandson (see the second photo). It’s a shame humans only have two eyes, because everywhere you look, you can see stunningly beautiful buildings, and I have never made so many photos as today. Afterwards, to escape the crowds a bit I took a walk through the hills behind the temple complex. The funny thing is that most tourists only go to see the most beautiful (or rather: most famous) sights, so you can check out all the other sights in relative quietness.

At the end of the day, I went to see the Imperial villa. This villa, with its 106 rooms, was the official retreat of the Imperial family until the 50’s. The current Emperor also lived here, when he had to flee from Tokyo as a young Prince in 1943. The villa has been restored to its old glory, of course using the traditional materials (wood) and construction methods (such as nailless joints). The villa has been gradually expanded over the centuries, and each section corresponds to the architectural styles of the time. In 2000, reconstruction of the garden was also completed. Surprisingly, it was very quiet here, even though it is one of the finest sights in Nikko. And contrary to many other museums, everything had excellent English explanations. You were allowed to walk through almost the entire villa, and everything looked very authentic. Also here, the usual hierarchy was clear. For example, the rug in the Emperor’s room contained more than 10 different colors, while that of the Emperor’s wife only contained 4, etc. The third photo is of the villa’s exterior.