Nikko Things to Do

Try and spot the monkeys
While there are loads of signs warning about them I didnt see any in 3 days until I was finally leaving the place. I thought I was unlucky but most of my mates who went there didnt see them either.

The Honden main hall was contributed by the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada in 1619. It is designated an important cultural property in 1908, and the structure remains as it was from the original. The Honden has verandas on all sides, and has two rooms inside which are decorated with lacquer. One of the rooms is the Naijin room and the other is the Gaijin room. It is said that God's soul is enshrined in the Naijin room.

The Honden building is surrounded by the Karamon Gate, Wakimon Gate and the Sukibei fence. All these are also designated important cultural properties in 1949.

The Futarasan Spiritual Spring's water comes from the cave of Mt. Korei, which is located at the back of the Honden main hall. People believe that the spring has two effects. That water might have a spiritual effect on eye disease. In addition, that water makes a tasty sake.

There is a teahouse called Azumaya, where you can indulge ina cup of green tea made by Futarasan Spring.

A lovely stroll along this path, lined by giant trees and stone lanterns, leads to the Futarasan Shrine. You can see the Roumon gate in the distance. The Roumon is a gorgeous gate in vermillion lacquer. It was built in 1982 for the 1200th anniversary of the Okumiya shrine located at Mt Nantai.

The Koukamon Gate is of Ming dynasty (Chinese) style. It is also called Ryuugu-zukuri (Palace of sea God) as it looks like one from afar. Therefore, this gate is also called Ryuguumon Gate. The Koukamon Gate leads to the Okunoin (Inner House) but that is not open to the public.

The Nitenmon is the biggest gate in Nikko. "Niten" can be translated as two gods, therefore the Nitenmon Gate can be called the "Gate of Two Gods". The two gods are called Jikokuten and Koumokuten, and these are two of the ***ennou (Deva kings).
In addition, this gate also is called Kaminarimon (Gate of Thunder) because image of Raijin (God of thunder) is put on the backside of the gate.

On the backside of the gate, you will find images of the red Raijin and blue Fujin (God of wind). Look closely, and you can see that The Raijin's fingers are just three, and each finger expresses past, present and future. On the hand, the Fujin's fingers are four, and each finger expresses the East, the West, the South and the North. Also, the Raijin and Fujin have two fingers for the leg. Those two fingers indicate the sky and the ground.

The Nioumon Gate will be the first gate you pass under on your way to visit the Taiyuin Mausoleum. It is also known as the Deva Gate as The two Deva Kings such as Misshaku-kongou and Naraen-kongou are guardians of the gate.

The Yashamon Gate enshrines four female devils. Each of them is painted a different color, and each color represents the East, West, North and South. If you look closely, you will notice that the Yashamon Gate is decorated with peonies, so sometimes it is called Botanmon Gate or "Peony Gate".