Exposing The World

Nikko

Decorated Shrines and temples

The central feature of this small city in Tochigi Prefecture, 140 km northeast of Tokyo, is a hill of richly decorated shrines and temples. Bright colors like this are unusual in a country where Buddhist temples are typically red an d black, and Shinto shrines are unpainted.

R: Detail of an eave

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The sacred hill

There are 103 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines on this site, all dating from the early 1600s.

The richly ornamented Karamon Gate
Chuzenji Temple
The Earth Dragon Fountain
The Nikko Toshogu
Sanjinko Temple
The Three Wise Monkeys, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”
This is the Guardian Yoimei himself

Nikko’s surroundings

Description

A close look at some highly weathered wood
Looking from the town of Nikko to the largest switchbacks of the Irohazaka, leading up the mountain
A short stretch of the Irohazaka, which means ‘alphabet.’ The road as a whole has 48 turns, each one named after a syllable go the Japanese phonetic alphabet.
A sign high on the mountain points to distant destinations
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