Nikko National Park – Toshogu Shrine

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Woke up early and had breakfast and headed out on a tour of Nikko National Park that I booked through viator.com. We were picked up to the hotel, taken to a Bus depot where we checked in for the tour . As we waited, I noticed that we were given pre-assigned seats on the bus. I told Sophon that I thought this was a very good idea – every time I board a tour bus, it reminds me as a kid on how I fought with my siblings over who got the front and window seats.

We boarded the bus and sure enough there were a couple of older woman who were not happy that they did not get the front seat. Other people wanted window seats or an empty seat next to them but the bus was full and seats were preassigned. There was a lot of fuss and Sophon simply said, “You were just telling me about this! You called that one right!”

I told him that there was more fun to come, the problem with tours is that for the most part, people are good and they follow the rules. Then you have a small percentage of people who think they are the only one on the tour. Someone will talk over the guide, making it impossible to hear the guide. Someone will announce they need to use the restroom stop when we made a restroom stop 10 minutes before. My favorites top two things that happen on tours are people coming back late to the bus without even offering an apology. At the top of the list is the person who pulls out the camera and starts taking pictures even though the guide has made it clear that photos aren’t allowed and there are signs hanging everywhere. I was sure he would see it all during the next couple of days and sure enough we did.

The ride to Nikko was about two hours with the first stop was Toshogu, a shrine built in the 1600s. The famous temple and mausoleum is dedicated to a celebrated historical figure of Japan, shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (and his final resting place). The temple is set in a hilly forest with giant cedar trees. The temple has both Buddhist and Shinto elements. The “Sleeping Cat” and “Hear no evil, say no evil and see no evil” are the most famous carvings in the shrine.