Nikko (日光), is most famous for Toshogu shrine (東照宮), Japan’s most lavishly decorated shrine (you will know why by looking at the photos below) and the mausoleum of Tokugawa leyasu (徳川 家康), the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate (徳川幕府). There is also Taiyuin (大猷院), the mausoleum of the third Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川 家光), the grandson of Ieyasu.
Toshugu shrine, along with Furarasan Shrine and Rinnoji, forms the shrines and temples of Nikko UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Well before Toshogu was built, Nikko was a center of Shintoism and Buddhism. That’s why you find a lot of temples and shrines dotted in Nikko.
From a major train station in Tokyo to Nikko is about 2 hours train ride (you may need to transfer trains), and a 10 minute bus ride from Nikko station to most other attractions.
If you enjoy this page, you may also enjoy other pages written for our travel to Japan.
