Road trip guide · Full guide coming soon

Nikko

By Jenner · Written from my own trip to Nikko · Full guide coming soon

Shrines and waterfalls with real weight to them. Toshogu is ornate in a way photos don’t prepare you for.

Full guide coming soon

By Jenner: I have actually done this trip. The full guide is coming soon, written up from my own notes — what is below is the preview.

The ornate gate and pagoda of Toshogu Shrine in Nikko surrounded by cedar trees

From Tokyo

~2.5 hrs from Tokyo

Best for

History + nature in one trip

When to go

Autumn leaves · go early in the season

Status

Full guide coming soon

What it is

Nikko Toshogu, where Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined, sits in a cedar forest above the town; Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls are up the Irohazaka switchbacks.

The one-day outline

Shrines first thing before the crowds, up the switchbacks to the lake and falls by midday, onsen in town on the way down.

Field notes

Notes by Jenner, from places I have actually been. More notes are on the way — the full guide is coming soon.

Don’t miss

Toshogu Shrine — ornate in a way photos don’t prepare you for.

Worth the drive

Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls.

Full guide coming soon — more field notes from my own trips are being written up and will be added here.

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