Nikkō

Good morning,

last week I went to a very special place and probably the most touristy place in Japan I have visited so far. A place with a long and significant history as well as awe-inspiring natural beauty. According to Wikipedia there exists a Japanese saying: "Never say 'kekkō' until you've seen Nikkō" - kekkō meaning beautiful, magnificent or "I am satisfied".
Nikkō is famous for its many temples and shrines. The first shrine was erected in 766. Apart from this, Nikkō also hosts multiple temples and shrines dedicated to the Tokugawa family. If you remember from my earlier posts, the Tokugawa family ruled Japan from 1600 to 1868. Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the three unifiers of Japan who seized control in 1600, died in 1616 and was then enshrined as a deity (or god)  in his own temple complex in Nikkō. It is also the place of his mausoleum. Enough history for now. Let me show you some pictures so you can see for yourself how "kekkō" Nikkō really is.

My first impression: Woooaaaaahhh...

Tokugawa was quite wealthy.

The main temple dedicated to Tokugawa

Apparently the wood work was carved out a a single piece of wood.

The resting place of Ieyasu Tokugawa.

The fanciest purification fountain I have ever seen.

Five story pagoda.

Entrance viewed from the inside.

We haven't been talking much about the natural beauty part. Let's tackle that one. Nikko is located right next to a volcano (Didn't see that one coming, did you.) with the name Nantai. Sometime between 22,000 and 12,000 years ago, lava flows from Nantai dammed the river at its foot. This in turn created Lake Chūzenji. At the place of the lava dam, the Kegon waterfall now drains the lake. Kegon is only one of many waterfalls in the area. I do have some pictures but unfortunately, you guessed it, it was foggy.

Kegon no taki. You can almost see the top of the 97 m deep fall.

This is nice. I like nice things.

Look at them lava columns. Huuuge.

Lake Chūzenji.

I would build a house here.

Where to go next? Shinji and Isoji discussing the plan.

I don't even know what to say anymore.

Nantai-san. Well, almost...

It was really nice of Shinji and Isoji to take me on this trip to Nikkō. I am looking forward to the next one. And I can tell you, I have great plans...

Cheers

Nils