Nikkō Tōshō-gū

Why it is on the list

Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun, was moved here from Kunozan in 1617 on his own instruction. The third shogun, Iemitsu, rebuilt the shrine in 1636 into the form it has today.¹ Fifty-five buildings went up in one year and five months, laid out on the natural slope with stairs and approaches, lacquered, painted and carved throughout. They were inscribed as a World Cultural Heritage site in December 1999.² Five of the structures are National Treasures, among them the Yōmeimon gate, the Karamon and the carving of the sleeping cat. Ieyasu's remains lie in a bronze urn at the top of the stone steps through the cedars.³

It is the wrong day for anyone who cannot manage steps: hundreds of stone stairs lead up through the forest to the grave.³ For a quieter day of art and gardens by the sea, take Enoura Observatory instead.

How to get it

From Asakusa, the Tobu limited express Kegon reaches Tobu-Nikko in about 1 hour 50 minutes. From Shinjuku, the JR limited express Nikko takes about two hours. By car, leave the Nikko-Utsunomiya Road at Nikko IC; the shrine is 2 km on. Its car park holds 200 cars, needs no reservation and costs 600 yen for the day.⁴

The shrine opens 9:00 to 17:00 from April to October and 9:00 to 16:00 from November to March, and the gate stops admitting visitors 30 minutes before closing. A ticket costs 1,600 yen for an adult, or 2,400 yen with the Treasure Museum. It covers the precinct from the Omotemon gate through the Yōmeimon, the Haiden, the Ishi-no-ma, the east corridor with the sleeping cat, the Okumiya and the Honjidō. Festivals and repair work can close parts of it, so ask the shrine office before the visit. An English audio guide to 29 of the buildings is rented just inside the Omotemon for 500 yen a day, with no booking for individuals.⁵

For a private prayer in the Kitōden, itself an Important Cultural Property, call the shrine; an individual prayer starts at 5,000 yen.⁶

Discretion

Festivals and repair work can close parts of the precinct, so check with the shrine office first.⁵ Coaches cannot use the shrine car park on weekends, public holidays or days with special events.⁴ The spring and autumn festivals re-enact the shogun's processions with a thousand warriors in costume.³