Toshogu Shrine in Nikko

Statue of the first shogun who is buried at the Toshogu Shrine.


Purification before entering the shrine.

At a Shinto shrine, the main hall (honden) has an innermost chamber that contains the shrine's sacred object.
Three giant gilded Buddha statues inside the main hall.


Entrance to the shrine area through the tall torii gate.


The Toshogu Shrine is the mausoleum of the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. The lavishly decorated shrine consists of more than a dozen Shinto and Buddhist buildings set in a beautiful forest up in the mountains above the Sacred City of Nikko. It was completed in 1636 after 12.5 years of construction, and it cost more than $200 Billion (in today's money) to build.

Countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf were used to decorate the buildings in a way not seen elsewhere in Japan.


We were lucky enough to see a traditional wedding being performed inside on of the temple rooms.
Famous elephant carvings.
This is one of the famous carvings above the Sacred Stable at the shrine:
"hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil."
Found near the entrance of every Shinto shrine, the water of these fountains is used for purification. You are supposed to clean your hands and mouth before approaching the main hall.
Robert standing in front of one of the temple guardians. (This was one of the main gods who was a common guard at other temples we visited. This was one of the largest statues we saw, though.)

Me inside a telephone box in the town of Nikko.
The restaurant where we ate lunch had tons and tons of notes from past diners pinned all over the walls and ceilings. There were even currency bills from all over the world pinned with it. We counted at least $40 American dollars.