Nikko
Today we traveled to the town of
Nikko, which is at the entrance of the Nikko National Park. This park is best known for the elaborately
decorated Toshogu Shrine and the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was the founder
of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Toshogu
Shrine was built in the 1600s and is the center of Shinto and Buddhist mountain
worship. Tokugawa Ieyasu was born in
1543 and was the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. Ieyasu ruled from 1600 until his death in
1616.
Nikko
is located in the mountains of the Tochigi Prefecture and is 140 km north of
Tokyo. The name Nikko literally means
“sunshine” which was very fitting because the weather was absolutely beautiful
today. There is a Japanese quote that
says, “Never say ‘kekko’ until you have seen Nikko.” Kekko is the Japanese word
for beautiful.
I thought that Nikko was a great
change of pace for everyone. We have
spent most of our time in large cities so it was nice to spend some time
outside and enjoy the fresh air. I personally
enjoyed being surrounded by the trees and thought that all of the streams were
very peaceful. I was amazed at how
elaborately the shrines were decorated and it was an interesting experience to
remove our shoes every time we entered a shrine. I had a wonderful time in Nikko, and I now
can understand why many people say it is such a beautiful place.
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