 |
| Snaphots on the way to Nikko |
Three large shrines in Nikko which were already decided as world heritage sites (Toshogu Shrine, Futarasan Shrine, Rinnoji Temple) can be visited within one day tour (well, 4 hours were enough though) using a three-in-one pass (but you can buy separate ticket for each shrine if you want). By using World Heritage Ticket (sold at Tourist Information Center), you can reach the area by bus (about 10 minutes) from and to the station (round-trip ticket) for ¥500 (ask also for the nearest bus stop to the area entrance).
After buying the combination ticket for ¥1000, I was suggested to start the tour from a small garden near the ticket booth. The garden which surrounding a pond was very artistic, neat and so Japanese. Soothing and relaxing.
 |
| .. and relaxing |
Right across the gate of the garden, stood a huge storehouse-like building which wall was painted with large Buddha figure, not so convincing to be said as a temple (although in the end I assumed that the building must be under renovation or something). I came to think, "Hey, is that really the first site?". Then I saw a group of tourist in front of the stairs led to the building, listening to their guide's explanation about the building. I'm not lost then. Phew.
Feeling assured, I climbed the stairs, showed my ticket, and entered the building. Oh yes, it WAS a temple, the Rinnoji Temple. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside. Shortly describe, a huge buddha statue sits in the middle of the building.
Smaller statues are put inside a glass box, each of them represents special task. For visitor who wants to pray for certain thing, they have to insert a piece of coin (not sure how much, maybe the larger the nominal, the bigger chance your prayer comes true) into a wooden box in front of the God bearing the most appropriate task. Japanese prays by clapping their hands twice then bowing their head while saying their wish inside their heart.
There was also a room, called Naki-ryu (crying dragon), which apparently built with a detail architecture in order to create an echo. When the priest stroke a wooden chime, we could hear a very soft, yet high-pitched sound, as if something (a dragon?) was crying (at least said to be so).
 |
| The outside look of Rinnoji Temple should be like this |
At shrines/temples you will always see booth selling o-mamori (charm), a small pocket with kanji embroidery. Japanese believes that inside o-mamori there is God who will protect them from bad deeds or who will give them good luck. People usually carry o-mamori and hang them on their bags at the day of exam or interview. You can read about common o-mamori purposes here.
 |
| O-mamori |
Out from Rinnoji Temple, I went to the second one, Toshogu Shrine which was built a little up on a hill. It was the burial place of dynasty founder Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu was buried here immediately after his death, but the present complex was only built in 1634 in the order of his grandson, Iemitsu. Here we could see the famous story of three wise monkeys (sanzaru), who "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil", being carved on wood lining on the wall, below the roof the Sacred Stall, house of a white guardian horse. They are part of a curious series of carvings about the life cycle of a monkey, from giddy childhood to fearful old age.
 |
| The famous sanzaru |
I have to say, in my opinion, Toshogu Shrine somehow must be strongly influenced by Indian culture. You will understand what I mean, if you look at the very detail carving, the vibrant colors, the imaginative figures. But it happened to be a Shinto shrine. It was my first time visiting a shrine that ornamented, that fancy. Unlucky, the main building of the shrine was under renovation, so we couldn't see how it looks. Interesting that there was a corner displaying barrels along with a glass box enclosing bottles of Kirin beer. Kirin itself is an imaginative animal having a deer's body (hooves are divided into two parts), cow's tail and wolf's head with horn. I thought Kirin is just a brand. For that I know what it really is.
 |
| Sophisticated carving richly decorating Yomei-mon (above) at Toshugu Shrine |
Absolutely different atmosphere could be felt when I visited the third site, Futarasan Shrine. It represented typical Japanese shrine. Simple colors and lack of ornaments made this shrine lift serenity up into the air. The main room was spread out with tatami, Japanese mat, with no furniture on top of it. Again, very simple.
 |
| Crossing the circle will bring good luck (believed to be so) - at Futarasan Shine |
Actually, besides these three sites, there was another one, Taiyuinbyo, the mausoleum of the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, the grandson of Ieyasu. To reach the place, I had to climb more than 80 steps of stairs. Way up the hill. The architecture, the ornaments, the colors were very much alike Toshogu Shrine. Interesting because it was in separate location. There, visitors could give their honor to the shogun, his wife, and his first son (if I'm not mistaken, since the explanation was in Japanese *grin*).
 |
| Compare it with Toshugu Shrine! |
The journey ended when my tummy was already demanding its right. I stopped by a small restaurant serving Japanese cuisine. Since I'm a muslim, I carefully selected the menu and came up with a tempura set. Not forget to buy small souvenirs (and two boxes of castella *laugh*), I waited for the bus to bring me back to the station.
A day full in Nikko was pretty exhausting and I had to restore my energy for the next day, meeting up with my friends who live in Tokyo and having a trip to Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. So, that's up for day 2! Sayonara!
 |
| The train stopped at a small station on my way to tokyo and there it was! Arashi! Never been that close, haha.. Lovely treat to end the trip :). |
Sources:
