I'm back in Tokyo at the moment getting ready to make my move across to Hong Kong early tomorrow morning. I arrived back here earlier this evening after a magical day exploring the temples and shrines around Nikko, a city a couple of hours to the north of Tokyo.
I took the train out to Nikko yesterday afternoon and checked in to a lovely guesthouse which well recommended by Russell and Tanith. I met some great people, two of whom, Alex and Andy, are meeting up with me again in Beijing soon. Today I joined up with the two of them to check out the shrines. I won't go into all the details, but suffice to say the major shrine, Tosho-gu, is in memory of the first Shogun, Tokugawa Ietyasu. It took 4.5 million artisans a year and a half to sculpt Tosho-gu and it really shows. The buildings are all incredibly intricately carved, and sadly I really cannot do it all justice with my little camera. It's interesting to note that the shrines incorporate both the Shinto and Buddhist religions.
The five-storey pagoda outside Tosho-gu.
The famous hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil, see-no-evil monkeys
Just one of the many beautiful buildings around Tosho-gu, selected at random from my memory card...
More of Tosho-gu.
A dragon guards the entrance to the shrine of Taiyun-byo, the mausoleum of the third Shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu.
A part of Taiyun-byo, less ostentatious than Tosho-gu but no less impressive.
A bridge over troubled waters... the beautiful Shin-kyo bridge.
The Narabi-jizo lining the pathway through the Ganman-ga-fuchi abyss
Alex's take on matters... no doubt incurring the future wrath of the Gods!
Its sad to leave after such a brief stay in Japan. But its been truly wonderful. A massive thank-you to Russell and Tanith for looking after me. Without you guys this part of my travels would never have been possible...
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