Japan Times: Nikko Part 1: statues and shrines

As the very early morning train pulled out of Asakusa Station, Simon and I yawned and watched the now-familiar mish-mash of concrete pass by the window. It’s not necessarily homely, but it certainly feels like home at the moment. The buildings get lower and further apart as you reach the edge of the city and I could feel the air changing too. The breeze drifting in every time the doors opened at a station brought with it the promise of green spaces, mountain rivers and sunshine.

Almost open - the Sky Tree towers
above the rest of the city

We settled back into our seats to watch the scenery change and make a start on the packed breakfast that we’d brought with us. I was pretty pleased with myself for having procured some tasty pastries from a posh bakery, as well as orange juice, iced coffee and bananas. But when we saw the four middle-aged guys sitting next to us, beautifully turned out in their suits, tucking into the beer at seven o’clock in the morning I did feel that we were lacking something.

Yes, we definitely should have brought beer to start the party early

On the train chugged, all the while climbing steadily as it shook off the city. We passed farms, forests and rice fields that looked like mirrors in the morning sunshine. On reaching Nikko, the end of the train line, we kept climbing, this time on foot. The main street was still sleepy that early in the morning so we didn’t stop, but headed straight to the Daiya River to see the beautiful Shinkyo Bridge, which marks the edge of the town and the beginning of the area famous for its shrines.

Nikko Station at 9.30am. Bright sunshine and blue skies.

Simon desperately wanted a go...

Picture postcard beauty of the Shinkyo Bridge

When he found out we were coming to Japan, my uncle lent me a great book called Weekend Adventures Outside Tokyo, which is full of suggestions of places that are reachable from Tokyo within a couple of hours. The author, Tae Moriyama, is more concerned with her readers finding hidden bits of Japan than hitting the major tourist spots, and decorates her route descriptions with fascinating historical and cultural details. We decided to follow her Hidden Face of Nikko route so that we would take in some lesser-visited sites as well as the really famous ones. The route started by taking us along the river away from the World Heritage site that contains the large shrines. We wound our way down through a beautiful area on the banks of the river, before crossing a bridge and continuing along the far side. Here was the most gorgeous path lined with both sakura and momiji trees. The busy centre of Nikko felt a million miles away. And Tokyo? Well, it might as well have been on another planet.

Everywhere around the river was a lush green

The beautiful Daiya River

Sakura and momiji in the same scene - incredible

At the far end of the field through which the path ran was a gate, on the other side of which began a line of stone Jizō statues. These are Buddhist carvings, often taking the form of a child-monk, and they protect women, children and travellers. The statues along the Daiya River particularly guide travellers to ensure they don’t get lost in the forest. Many of the Jizō we saw have been there for so long that they have been worn down by the elements, and some were missing limbs, but still they remained, unmoving, quietly marking the path. They are said to guide people both in life and death which, at first thought, is a little eerie, especially when alone in the middle of a forest. However, on reflection I actually find the idea quite calming and there was certainly a very peaceful atmosphere in the grove of Jizō statues.

Simon pretending to be a statue

Serene in their ancientness

The path continued along the river, which races between the stones on the banks and the bed, forming the Gamman ga fuchi pools, which we contemplated from a shade of a wooden pergola next to the water. From here we could also see ancient Sanskrit carvings on the rocks on the opposite bank.

The Gamman ga fuchi pools

Moriyama-san’s route got us to retrace our steps past the Jizō statues and through the field, back over the river to Joko-ji temple, which is just gorgeous. It’s very quiet and wonderfully looked after – beautifully manicured plants and wooden buildings sit together in harmonious tranquility.

Joko-ji's main prayer hall

Beautifully kept grounds

Handwashing station watched over by a dragon

On we went, entering the huge World Heritage site from the west, by Tayuin-byo shrine. This is where the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, is buried. According to all the guide books and information we read, this isn’t nearly as lavish as the neighbouring Toshogu Shrine, where the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, has his mausoleum. All I can say is that I’d be happy with decoration as ‘plain’ as this for my tomb… (although I would rather have it in my house right now!)

Wonderfully lavish decoration under the eaves of Tayuin-byo

Hon-den, the main prayer hall

One of four deities guarding the shrine

Dragons all over the place too!

Tokugawa Iemitsu's tomb. Not bad for the 'plain' one!

Next, we took a narrow, steep path up into the hills to the north of the main site. The trees got taller and taller and wider and wider the higher we climbed. And everything was such a vivid green – the whole place felt full of energy. Silence barged in like a giant and persistent cotton wool ball, swallowing us up in its clutches. The path turned from tarmac to stones and kept on rising.

A tiny shrine perched at the top of a stone staircase

Huuuuuge trees!

We began to be aware of the sound of running water, splashing, gurgling and having a lot of fun. The path wound down slightly, towards a small wooden bridge. To our left, the reason for the noise became evident: a large waterfall, one of the many distributaries of the Daiya River, which falls tumultuously from the massive Lake Chuzenji, perched high in the mountains, danced its way down the hillside, laughing and playing under our feet as we stood on the bridge. Crouching silently next to the river is a Shinto shrine and it was here that we went next. We stopped to try our luck at the wishing tori – throw a stone through the small hole in the cross beam and you are granted one wish. Simon didn’t manage it but to my surprise I was successful. My wish? That remains between me and the trees. I could feel the serenity of the place creeping into my veins as we continued around the grounds of the shrine.

The path through the trees, under the wishing gate

The tiny hole through which you need to throw a stone to have a wish granted

Entrance to one of the smaller shrine buildings

A little way ahead was a small grove of bamboo shoots fenced off from the path. Legend has it that if you can tie one of the leaves into a knot using only the thumb and little finger of one hand you’ll get to marry the person of your choice. Neither of us managed this one. Uh oh. Next to the bamboo grove was the main shrine, and behind this was a small sparkling pool of sacred water, often collected by sake brewers from the Tochigi Prefecture to make their tipple that little bit more special. The whole place felt alive and welcoming, sitting on the side of the mountain waiting for visitors.

Knotting bamboo...we both failed

Sacred pool favoured by sake brewers

We headed back towards the foot of the mountain, down a long avenue lined with gargantuan trees, ancient cobbles underfoot. The view can’t have changed much for centuries and I could almost feel the devotees of years gone by gently brushing past me on their way between the shrine and the town. On the way down was another small shrine, the altar piled high with giant chess-like shogi pieces. Pregnant women from the local area come to borrow one of these pieces to ensure a smooth delivery. After their baby is born, they donate a new, bigger piece to the shrine to give thanks.

Another tiny shrine hiding just off the main path

Simon really loved the trees

Hasn't changed for centuries

Giant shogi pieces from new mothers

We explored the area around this shrine for a little while longer, looking for some Buddhist statues that Moriyama-san’s book had mentioned. Eventually we spotted them – six stone carvings resting quietly in a recess under a sheer cliff face, guarding the area from intruders. They looked at us and we looked back at them before retreating quietly to the main path, and carrying on back into Nikko.

We looked, they looked; we left, they stayed

By now the early afternoon sun was high in the sky and it was getting pretty hot. Definitely time for a break and some lunch. On our way up through the town in the morning we had spotted several nice looking restaurants so we pottered back to one of these and had delicious ramen in a great little place whose walls were decorated with messages from travellers who had visited from all over the world.

Unassuming from the outside, it's well worth popping in

The menu and some of the messages from travellers who have visited

After lunch it was time to head back to the main shrine complex. The queue for Toshogu Shrine itself was long so we wandered around the grounds then skirted the edge of the complex and headed instead to Futarasan-jinja to take in the beauty of the main prayer hall and the coloured wishing papers. The whole World Heritage site really is a majestic place and it was wonderful to spend time taking it all in in the gorgeous sunshine.

Entrance to the World Heritage site

Mikuji - wishing papers - tied to a tree

Entrance to the grounds of the Toshogu Shrine

Nio-mon gate at Toshogu Shrine

Amazing five-storey pagoda

Stone marker for the entrance to
Futarasan-jinja

Main prayer hall at Futarasan-jinja

Colourful mikuji outside the shrine

Taking it in took its toll on us weary travellers though, and so we wended our way back to the river where we drank some beer and dozed in the sunshine. Finally, it was time to make our way back to the station to catch the train to our overnight destination, Utsunomiya. Famous for gyoza, this town, and our stay there, is deserving of its very own blog post…