When we first arrived at the hotel in Nikko, we were impressed with the beautiful surroundings as we saw the Daiya River passing through the dense trees on either side.
We went down to have a look and noticed straight away the difference in temperature. It was so much cooler by the river and when we dipped our feet in, we realised why! The water was icy cold – probably as cold as it would be in Antarctica (well maybe not that cold, but it was still pretty cold!). We could only dip our feet in for about ten seconds at a time because it was so cold – even on a hot, summer’s day! The water comes all the way from the top of the mountain where it would be pretty cold which is why, understandably, it is so cold!
This is the Daiya River and you can see how beautiful it is with all the pretty flowers growing beside it.
We went for a walk down the street and noticed many dragonflies happily fluttering around the area.
There were so many of them and they would often stop and rest on someone’s shoulder before taking off again. Lauren and I saw one that was eating a fly. Check out this awesome photo! It was so cool and interesting to watch it eating another insect. I wouldn't choose to eat a fly, but this little dragonfly was having a feast!
The Shinkyo Sacred Bridge is another famous attraction in Nikko. It looks so cool with the strong current of the river flowing below it. We took many cool photos of this bridge.
We then went for a walk around the temples and shrines. The first temple we went to looked so impressive because of all the detail and care that went into the architecture of the building. This is the first temple we visited.
This is the ceiling of the temple as we walked through the gate. Every ceiling we saw contained elaborate detail and colour. This was one of many.
This was the sacred fence that surrounded the temple. Take note of the detail in the construction.
At every temple, there was a little rock turtle sitting on a cement block. I took a photo of one because it looked so cute!
There was also a five-story pagoda in the National Park. I love five-story pagodas as there are very few in Japan, so they are considered very special.
One of the major attractions in Nikko are the monkeys: Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil. Here, you can see a picture of the shrine that contained the three monkeys.
Tina, Lauren and I wanted to be like the monkeys too, so we joined in on the act!
At the Toshyogu Temple, I took a photo of the walls encompassing the temple which contained peacocks on the outer edges. This is a close-up picture of the artwork.
This is the Toshyogu Temple gate.
After visiting the temples, we made our way by bus up a windy mountain to the famous Kegon Falls. It was beautiful. We got to go in an elevator 100metres below the ground to see the fierce waterfall meeting the pool below. It was spectacular!
Not far from the waterfall, was a beautiful lake called the Chuzenji Lake. It was so nice to get a good look-out of the lake and the mountains. I really want to come back to Nikko in Winter because everything is covered in snow and it looks really pretty.
While we were looking for something to eat, we spotted a sign that contained a really good message on it. It was called “The Four Way Test”. I think it is very wise and can help you make good decisions in your life, which is why I decided to take a photo of it. So if you have to make an important decision, read this sign and you will be able to make the right one!!!
For dinner, Lauren, Tina and I decided to eat at a small Korean-style restaurant. It was delicious and the service was great! I ate yaki tori (chicken skewers) and they tasted delicious!
I would definitely come back to visit Nikko again. There are apparently really nice hiking trails on the mountain surrounding the town which I would love to do. It is such a beautiful spot containing so much natural beauty. I really enjoyed my time in Nikko!
1 comment:
Nikko was really cool. I had a great time there. We saw many interesting things....:-)
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