Nikko

Hmm. I don’t think I say much about this trip. I got up early on Friday to head out Nikko which is 2 hours by train north of Tokyo. It gets busy, so I was trying to beat the crowds. I mostly succeeded. But the main thing about this trip was that I was cold! For the first time Japan. When I left the hostel, I realized that it was a bit cooler (a storm had moved through the night before), but I was so used to Shirahama where no matter how cool it is in the early morning, by 10 or so, it is freaking hot. So although I thought about going back at least for my long sleeve hoodie, I didn’t. I should have. And I should have put the one pair of pants I had on. And brought an umbrella. I didn’t do any of those things so I was a bit cold and wet (though the rain wasn’t so bad because it misted and didn’t really rain heavily. And I bought an umbrella for the second time this trip. You would think I would learn. And now I have I will always bring an umbrella from now on.). I later remedied being cold with my favorite Japanese thing, a trip to an onsen which was super hot. 15 minutes in the water was all I could stand, but it was wonderful and warmed me up completely.

Anyway, as for Nikko, near the town there is a complex of temples and shrines amongst a forested area. The guy who established the Shogunate asked his son to build a tomb for him there and enshrine him as a God. He did so and along the way, built lots of buildings that seem to serve the purpose of showing off how powerful and rich the family was. Seriously, these are the most gaudy temples and shrines (particularly the Toshogu shrine complex) that I have ever seen. Lots of gold and very involved carvings. On the other hand, there is a lovely garden associated with one of the temples, lots of beautiful stone lanterns, and moss covered stones that are really beautiful all over.

Those elements help make all the gold and ornate carvings seem less over the top. But the whole place reminds me of a super-done-up Kumano shrine. But those shrines are more dignified and serene and they are not the result someone in power trying to show off. I can see why the people in Tokyo who all told me the loved it were impressed – you can’t see anything like it in Tokyo, but it is truly sub-par to a shrine and temple complex like Nachi. But I’m glad I went, and I liked it. Plus it makes me realize how lucky I was to see two of the Kumano Sanzan which have a longer and more interesting history to me as well as nicer complexes.