Nikko

A Japanese proverb says: “he who has not seen Nikko should not use the word kekko (magnificent).”
Nikko is a renowned place of prayer, celebrated for the combined beauty of its landscapes and monuments. Pierre Loti gave an admirable description of it in his work Japoneries d'automne: “beneath the cover of a dense forest, on the slopes of the sacred mountain of Nikko, amid waterfalls that create an eternal sound in the shade of the cedars, stands a series of enchanted temples, in bronze, in lacquer with golden roofs, as if conjured by a magic wand, amid vast untamed nature. Inside these temples, an unimaginable magnificence, a fairy-tale splendor… All this dazzling beauty, amid this forest mystery, makes these tombs something unique on earth.”
At the heart of this landscape of silence and contemplation, you'll discover the Shinkyo Bridge, a sacred crescent-moon bridge lacquered in red, the Yomeimon Gate, a monumental masterpiece of Japanese architecture, the Toshogu Shrine, the most impressive in Nikko, and the Futarasan Shrine, the oldest complex on the site.
Stroll along the shores of Lake Chuzenji, nestled at 1,269 m in the sacred mountain, whose overflow plunges 100 m in a mist of spray at Kegon Falls. In Chuzenji Onsen, you can take a traditional bath fed by volcanic hot springs and wander through the village's narrow streets, lined with restaurants and souvenir shops.