Travel & Hospitality Awards | Asia 2019 | www.thawards.com

Nikko | City of History & Culture
The picturesque city Nikko is located 120 km north of Tokyo. This is a popular spot
for tourists and amongst Japanese holidaymakers, who are looking for a weekend
escape from Tokyo’s crazy, fast paced lifestyle. Nikko has an eventful history, with many
UNESCO World Heritage sites, and an outstanding natural landscape with mountains
surrounding the whole area and waterfalls draining into Lake Chuzenji.
Nikko’s three most famous sights are Toshogu Shrine, Futarasan Shrine and Rinnoji Temple,
all of which can be entered with the convenient ¥1,000 Nikko Pass. One of the most
popular is Tosho-gu, the grandiose, Chinese-inspired burial place of 17th century shogun
supreme Leyasu Tokugawa. With its red corridors, and a staggering 2.5 million sheets of
gold leaf and intricate carvings on every inch of its vast surface area, this is decadence
personified. This building is a complete juxtaposition of the modest, austere style of most
Japanese temples and shrines. Climbing the 200 stairs to Leyasu’s tomb will cost you an
extra ¥520, but it’s worth it to see where the great unifier of Japan rests in peace.
Other touristy must sees
include The Sacred Stable you
will have to fight amongst other
site seers to snap a picture of
the three iconic monkeys acting
out the famous “hear no evil,
speak no evil, see no evil”
mantra. You do not just have
to go and see the most famous
temples and shrines, there are
a heap of other smaller, quieter
ones that are just as majestic
and often the journey to them,
tucked away in the mountains is
the fun part seeing them.
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