Recommended Length: 1 Day
Feel the true pulse of Nikko through its traditional summer festivals. Cool down with kakigori shaved ice made from fresh mountain water or a cold brew at a festive beer garden.
Embrace the Energy of Summer Festivals
Day 1
Nikko Station / Tobu-Nikko Station
By bus
30 minutes on a bus bound for Kirifurikogen or Osasabokujo to the the Kirifurikogen bus stop
Attractions
By bus
25 minutes on a bus bound for Nikko Station. Change to a World Heritage tour bus at Tobu-Nikko Station and ride 15 minutes to the Omotesando bus stop.
Shrine
Nikko Toshogu Shrine
The most noteworthy of Nikko’s religious buildings is Toshogu, where Tokugawa Ieyasu was enshrined after his death in 1616. Twenty years later, Ieyasu’s grandson (Iemitsu, the third Tokugawa shogun) constructed an elaborate complex around Ieyasu's mausoleum. Its 55 buildings include eight National Treasures, notably Yomeimon, a lavish gate covered with complex wood carvings, bright paintings and gold leaf. While exploring the site, look out for a few of the quirkier carvings—a sleeping cat, angry-looking clawed elephants (the artist had never seen one), and the famous three monkeys in “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” poses. Just outside the complex is the modern Nikko Toshogu Museum, where you can learn more about the first shogun.
Restoration of the shrine complex is expected to finish in 2020; some areas will remain open throughout.
History & Culture
Other
10 minutes from the Taiyuin / Futarasanjinja-mae bus stop by the World-Heritage Tour buses. From Tobu-Nikko Station, ride 10 minutes to Shimoimaichi Station. Transfer, and ride 20 minutes to Kinugawa-Onsen Station.
Events
On Foot
15-minute walk