The fastest and most convenient way to access Nikko is on the private Tōbu Nikkō Line (東武日光線) from Tokyo's Tobu-Asakusa station.
Most tourist literature translates this as "Don't say 'magnificent' until you've seen Nikko", but there's another dimension to this Japanese pun: it can also mean "You shouldn't say 'enough' before you see Nikko", since "kekkō" is used in Japanese as a very polite way of declining an offer. However, for all of the grandeur the shoguns could muster, they're now over-shadowed in the eyes of many visitors by a trio of small wooden carvings on a stable wall: the famous three wise monkeys.Ī famous Japanese saying proclaims Nikko wo minakereba "kekkō" to iu na. Some sense of dignity is restored by a magnificent forest of over 13,000 cedar trees, covering the entire area. Unlike most Japanese temples and shrines, the buildings here are extremely gaudy and ornate, with multicolored carvings and plenty of gold leaf, and show heavy Chinese influence. I will be the guardian of peace keeping in Japan." As a result, Nikko became home of the mausoleums of the Tokugawa Shoguns, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. However, in 1616, the dying Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made it known that his final wish was for his successors to "Build a small shrine in Nikko and enshrine me as the God. The first temple in Nikko was founded more than 1,200 years ago along the shores of the Daiya River.
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