It's been awhile. How's it Hiving?
From April 26th - May 5th, my cousin and her husband from New York were travelling Japan. On the 6th of May I/we finally met up with them. We picked them up in Tokyo and headed to Nikko.
The thing with visiting Japan on guided tours is you will see a lot, but you won't take it all in. That was the case with my fam from NYC. They saw a lot: Tokyo, Kyoto and Nara, Osaka, Nagoya, castles, temples, shrines, museums and everything in between but they didn't get to soak it all in.
So we chose to go to Nikko for a more laid back experience. Nikko is a small town located about 2 hours north of Tokyo's city center. It is known for its World Heritage temples and shrines, National parks and relaxing onsens.
My father in law really wanted to reciprocate what my cousins had done for us when we were in New York last summer. They rented a car, picked us up at the airport, took us around town, paid for and planned many experiences and we stayed at their home. We all had a wonderful time in NYC thanks to them.
This time around my father in law planned the entire trip to Nikko: the car, the hotel, the shrine, where we would dine and more. And he drove the entire time. Really grateful for a chill but samurai spirited dad in law.
On the first day, we stayed at an onsen hotel ( ryokan ), something I feel is one of the the most traditional things you can do in Japan. These hotels have traditional tatami style rooms with futons, all you can eat breakfast and dinner as well hot springs which are the main attraction. If you want to see more about that, check out this vlog I did here.
We only stayed at the Ryokan for one night and then we made our way to Tōshōgū Shrine to experience one of the greatest, if not the greatest Shrine in Japan.
TōshōgūShrine, Nikko.
Toshogu Shrine (東照宮, Tōshōgū) is a lavishly decorated Shinto shrine located in Nikkō, in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. It's one of the most famous and historically significant shrines in the country, and it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the "Shrines and Temples of Nikkō."
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616)
The Shrine was dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616), the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868. It was Originally built in 1617 and enlarged into its current grand form by Tokugawa Iemitsu (Ieyasu’s grandson) in 1636.
For those of you who know the Netflix series "Shogun", the writer of the original and best selling book which the series spawned from was based on the life of warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The bronze lantern (Oranda dōrō)
This lantern that prominently stands at the left of the main gate to the shrine was presented by the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.) to the shōgun in 1643. Not sure why exactly, but I figure they were business partners and the shōgun was well respected. The lantern is said the spin when lit.
The most interesting part of the lantern in my opinion are these elephant type creatures that are said devour bad dreams and intentions.
Yomeimon Gate (陽明門)
The most iconic structure of the shrine, The Yomeimon Gate is lavishly decorated with over 500 carvings, including mythical beasts, sages, and children at play. You'll need an entire day to take in the various carvings as they are very detailed. The gates name is said to mean, "Gate of the Setting Sun" because it’s said you could gaze at its beauty all day.
My youngest son and his Japanese grandmother mainly sat around this area after you go through the main gate: The reason, kiddo as tired, bored and wanted icecream.
My cousin and her husband shared that this was the most magnificent shrine they had seen in all of Japan—and they visited many throughout their journey. Interestingly, they had also explored Tokugawa Ieyasu’s residence in Tokyo ( Edo Castle, where he lived during his rule over Japan. Visiting Nikko felt like the perfect completion of their journey, bringing everything full circle.
It also seems my cousins were glad to get away from the tour guide type of travel and just explore on their own. My dad in law also wanted to book an English speaking tour guide at the Shrine ( yeah they actually offer that). I was meh towards the idea. "Unfortunately" the English speaking tour guides were on an 1hr 30min break at the time.
Up the Stairs
After exploring the main area beyond the gates and entering places cameras were not allowed to go, we made our way up the stairs.
There is actually a way to doing this Shrine, you see, my cousins wondered off in to the places cameras weren't allowed and I followed them.
But my father-in-law was calling out to us, urging us to go up the stairs first—insisting that it was the proper way to do things. Why do you think that is? I have a feeling you'll discover the reason soon enough… just as I'm starting to realize it myself as I write this.
"They already went inside. I'll just go with them."
Resting place of Tokugawa
I believe this is the reason to go up the stairs first before entering the rooms in the shrine, it is to pay respect to Tokugawa, whos body rests here in a magnificent tomb. Now it all makes sense. Sorry Tokugawa San, I hope you figure us foreigners.
The Ancient Wishing Tree
Around the corner from the tomb, an ancient tree said to be there before the shrine was built stands tall but hollowed from time.
The tree is said to grant wishes to those who pray and give an offering. The photos in this segment were taken by Yumar.
Can you guess what I wished for?
See no evil, hear no evil, Say no.. The three wise mokeys.
I wanted to get some better shots of the three monkeys; Hear no evil, say no evil and see no evil. The 3 wise monkeys actually started in Japan and is popular all over the world, well, with my generation that is. Not sure the younger gen would even know about this.
The three monkeys are:
- Mizaru (見ざる), "does not see", covering his eyes
- Kikazaru (聞かざる), "does not hear", covering his ears
- Iwazaru (言わざる), "does not speak", covering his mouth
Now, that is not a 4th monkey, that's me.
It was great seeing my cousins and spending time together in Nikko. I hope to see them in Japan again in the near future and to also stop by NYC and link them up on my way to Jamaica.
Cheers to family visiting from aboard, cheers to memories made and give thanks they made it back to NYC safely.
And thank you dear reader for stopping by.
Blessings.
[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin 36.75792 lat 139.59876 long Nikko, Toshogu Shrine d3scr))