Nikko, Japan Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

If you make one trip from Tokyo, it should be to the pilgrim town of NIKKO , 128km north of the capital, with a World Heritage-listed shrine complex set amid splendid mountains and surrounded by outstanding hiking trails. The antithesis of the usually austere Shinto shrines – and often considered overbearingly gaudy – Tosho-gu , which, appropriately enough, means "sunlight", is the dazzling jewel of Nikko. Year round, masses of Japanese tourists tramp dutifully around Tosho-gu and the surrounding holy buildings, which include the Futarasan-jinja shrine and the Buddhist temple of … more »