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Nikko World Heritage to show the glory of Tokugawa Shogunate
Nikko was designated as a world heritage in 1999. The historical source of Nikko goes back to 8 century when Buddhist priest named Shodo exserted tremendous efforts to construct a temple to worship the three deities of thousands-armed Kannon, Amitabha and Horse-headed Kannon, with each deity believed to reside in the mountains located in the north of Nikko, such as Nantai-san, Nyoho-san and Taro-yama. His enthusiastic efforts finally led to the construction of Toshogu shrine of Tokugawa.
Meeting Point
Tokyo station just mentioned above
Ticket gate of Tokyo station. If possible, at North exit located Marunouchi side
We will meet there. I will hoist a placard for your recognition. Then, you will buy the railway ticket to go to Nikko, or if you have IC card, you will use it to go through the ticket gate. Anyway, we will go to the platform No. 7 to get on the train of JR Ueno-Tokyo Line bound for Utsunomiya, and there at the station we will transfer to JR Nikko Line bound for Nikko. At 11:15 am, we will arrive at the station of Nikko, and move to Tobu Nikko station on foot for about 5 minutes or so.
Bus stop located just in front of Tobu-Nikko station.
We will get on a bus there to go to the bus stop of Shinkyo bridge. We will arrive at Shinkyo bridge in less than 10 minutes. It is a very important bridge to know the origin of Nikko, the world heritage. Shinkyo means literally "God bridge". When the Buddhist priest Shodo arrived at the river of Daiya to access to the sacred place of Nikko mountains, the river flooded and Shodo was not able to go across the river. Suddenly a dragon appeared there and helped Shodo to cross the river by transforming itself to a bridge.
Rinnoji temple
Rinnoji temple was originally opened by the priest Shodo. After three times desperate trials to climb up the Mt. Nantai-san, he finally succeeded in going up to the top of the mountain. There he sensed a kind of revelation, and then he decided to construct a small temple to worship the spirit of the Nikko mountain. This is the beginning of Rinnoji temple.
Taiyuin Temple
After the visiting of Rinnoji temple, we will move to Taiyuin temple on foot. This temple was constructed for the requiem of the third Shogunate named Iemitsu Tokugawa of Tokugawa shogunate. Iemitsu Tokugawa respected highly the first Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, and he dedicated sincere efforts to improve the original construction of Toshogu shrine to much more bigger and grandeur as is now. As everybody knew his sincerity to his grand father, hence forth launching of the construction of the temple for Iemitsu Tokugawa in the vicinity of Toshogu shirine, his grand father.
Lunch in some restaurant neaby
Nikko is a well-known sightseeing spot. So, there are many restaurants here and there. Of course, each restaurant specializes in mainly offering some Japanese style recipes. Anyway, shall we check the menu of each restaurant before coming to the conclusion?
Nikko Toshogu shrine
After visiting of Toshogu shrine, we will visit today's main event. Toshogu was constructed firstly by the order of Ieyasu Tokugwa, who was the founder as well as the first shogunate of Tokugawa shogunate regime. The first shrine constructed after his death was not so much big in size and not so grand as is now. But, the third shogun named Iemitsu Tokugwa, the grandson of Ieyasu dedicated a lot for the reconstruction of the shrine. Luckily enough he was a shogun powerful enough to be able to make it. He issued an order to ask for cooperation to almost all of the feudal loads located here and there in Japan, to contribute something necessary for the rebuilding for the shrine.
Futarasan shrine
Futarasan shrine is located very near to Nikko Toshogu shrine. The founder of Futarasan shrine is the Buddhist Shodo. He was not only engaged in the construction of Rinnoji temple, but also initiated the establishment of a Shinto shrine, which was the traditional religion of Japan. It was the beginning of Futarasan shrine, in which he worshiped the deity of Nantai mountain, so-called thousand-armed Kannon.
Nikko station (JR)
We will get on the train at Nikko station on the way back to Tokyo, expected to arrive at Tokyo at around 20:00.
Drop off point
Tokyo station (but, based on your request, we can change to another place for your convenience )
Ending Point
Tokyo station (but, based on your request, we can change to another place for your convenience )
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Inclusions & Exclusions
Guide fee: 30,000yen
a. Transportation fee for the guide: 6,280yen (@3,140 yen × 2 : Round trip between Yokohama and JR Nikko station)
b. Entrance fee for temples and shrines will be borne by the clients.
・Toshogu shrine: @1,300yen per person
・Rinnoji temple: @400yen per person
・Taiyuin temple: @550yen per person
・Futarasan shrine : @300 yen per person
c. Lunch: not included: You are requested to pay on site.
d. Transport fee for the clients: Please pay on your own. You are recommended to purchase an IC card in advance.
Tour Important Information
・Nikko is a little bit far away from Tokyo, 3 hours away in timewise by JR and 2,640yen costing for one way from Tokyo, but it will be worthwhile to visit. Especially, in the visit of Nikko in autumn season, the changing colors of the trees will be breathtakingly beautiful. Iemi
・In the itinerary I present to you, we will be able to cover such areas as Sninkyo bridge included as one of the three queer bridges in Japan, Rinnoji temple, the first temple inaugurated by the ascetic priest Shodo in 8the century to enshrine the deities residing in the three mountains in Nikko, Taiyuin temple, dedicated for the third shogunate Tokugawa regime, Iemitus Tokugawa, Nikko Tosho-gu, the day's main event which is unbelievably gorgeous in the design and lastly Futarasan shrine, a shinto shrine mainly dedicated for bridging a tie between two young couples.
But you have to pay some admission fee (per person for an adult) for your visit of the facilities. They are as in the following:
Rinnoji temple: @400yen, Taiyuin temple: @550yen, Nikko Toshogu shirine: @1,300yen, Futarasan shrine: @300yen
・Regarding lunch on the day, we could select one from a lot of restaurants located along the street.
Fee for lunch will be borne by you.
・You are requested to cover the transportation fee for my round trip between Yokohama and Nikko(approxi. 7,000yen).
・The last but not the least, the Tokugawa shogunate era of Japan is the unprecedentedly peaceful era in the Japanese history. If you visit Nikko, you would be able to know how and why it was so.
Cancellation Policy
- Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
- 50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
- No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time
Tokyo Tour Reviews
“Excellent ”
My wife and I had a great day in Tokyo with Choyo san.
Choyo T.
(3 reviews)Thank you for your comment!!
“Exceptional Tour Guide”
Mr. Choyo Tanaka was an awesome guide! He was very professional, very friendly, and very patient with us. There was no hurry to get through our set schedule. Instead he moved at our pace. And he was ever mindful of our needs. Constantly checking if we were ok. We visited a few of the tourist hotspots in Tokyo and he was very knowledgeable in sharing the history of each place. We had a great day with Mr. Tanaka and would highly recommend him!
Choyo T.
(3 reviews)Thank you very much for your warm-hearted comment with me. But, frankly speaking your estimation about me is too much for me. I only try to be a facilitator to introduce Japan and Japanese culture to foreign visitors who visit Japan with a lot of expectation to know inside and outside of Japan. The only thing I can do for them is to do the best to meet their demand. God bless you and your family!!!
Burhanuddin M.
Two days exciting tour to Nagano to see Sakura & castle, enjoy soba-making, many more!
Customized
I think the guide do not have sufficient knowledge on the place we are visiting and also the route. It is a waste of my time and should not be allowed to guide to places where he is not familiar. If he need to read the information given at the place of interest, I also can read and I don't need his service. TQ
Choyo T.
(3 reviews)Thank you for your review about our two days tour of Nagano. I was careless about skipping the information of Ueda castle to you. It is a long story, but I should have done. And one more, I and my driver feel deeply sorry for being delayed in arriving at the hotel because of making wrong choice of the route on the way back to the hotel.
