Day tripping to Nikko

Had some friends visiting from Melbourne this week so I had people to talk to and hang out with for a couple of days, whoo hoo! It was a bit of a family reunion for my friend's partner, he lives in Melbourne now but is originally from Spain. His brother and wife had come across from Zaragoza and were super organised with their itinerary, so I tagged along on the family day trip to Nikko, 120km north of Tokyo.

Depending which train option you go for, (the faster the train, the more expensive your ticket), it takes between an hour and a half to two and a half hours to reach Nikko train station. We caught the shinkansen (bullet train) from Ueno to Utsonomiya and then onto the local train the rest of the way to Nikko. From the train station you can walk 20 mins up to the shrine area or catch the bus up and save your legs.

The Nikko national park area is extensive, 1,400 sq km. The main attractions within this area are the many Shinto and Buddhist shrines from the Edo period, scattered between the giant cedar trees. We spent most of our time wandering around the biggest shrine complex, Toshu-Gu shrine, a memorial to the first Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. It supposedly took 15,000 artists two years to complete the shrine. You can see why!

There are several building to explore just within this one shrine area, the photo below is of the steps leading up to the shogun's mausoleum area at the top of the hill behind the main bling bling area.

Getting a bit tired after taking our shoes on and off  a gazillion times and trying to stay one step ahead of the large Mexican tour group behind us, we decided to check out one more area before lunch. At this point I had lost track of where we were but it was another stunning shrine area. I particularly liked the miniature replica of the portable shrines that get toured around the town during cherry blossom festivals.

On our way to lunch we passed the Shin-kyo Bridge. Pretty ugly huh? No idea why anyone would want to check out this area at all.

And thanks to Lonely Planet for directing us towards this beauty - 900 yen ($9) for this plate of awesomeness.

Yes, I ate that all myself. Yes it was as tasty as it looks. Photo below if you want to find it for yourself one day. Place is called Hippari Dako. People like to leave notes of thanks all over the walls.