Nikko 日光市
Nikko is a city located in the northern Kanto region. It is easily reachable by train from Tokyo, and it is renowned for the outstanding Shrines and Temples of Nikko National Park.
The most famous part of Nikko is Toshogu shrine. I remember reading in the Lonely Planet that if all the shrines are Japan were pigeons, Toshogu would be a peacock. And that couldn't be more true! Both Toshogu shrine and the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, are exquisitely decorated and were the most enchanting places I've seen in Japan!
Nikko had been a Shinto and Buddhist center for many centuries and it also offers gorgeous landscapes, lakes, waterfalls, and hiking trails.
The buildings of Nikko are set in a beautiful forest and decorated with countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf. Traditionally, Japanese shrines are decorated in a very simple way, which make the complex of Nikko especially unique.
