Winter Trip to Nikko Part 7: World Heritage "Shrines and Temples of Nikko" (3) Futarasan-Jinja Shrine, and Taiyuin Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple & Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park

[Introduction]

I traveled to Nikko (日光) for three days and two nights in the middle of February for the first time in five years. Visiting Nikko in winter would be a good choice, since there are less tourists compared to other seasons (summer and autumn) and visitors are able to enjoy snow scenery. In this article, I will write about Futarasan-Jinja Shrine, Taiyuin Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple and Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park as part of Day 2.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Day 1: Nikko Station
* Day 1: SL Taiju
* Day 1: Kegon Falls and Lake Chuzenji
* Day 1-2: Nikko Station (Light-up) and Nikko Station Hotel Classic
* Day 2: Shinkyo Bridge and Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple
* Day 2: Nikko Toshogu Shrine
* Day 2: Futarasan-Jinja Shrine, Taiyuin Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple and Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park [This article]
* Day 2-3: Nikko Kanaya Hotel
* Day 3: Kosugi Hoan Museum of Art and Matsuyashiki

[Travel Date]
2018.02.18-20

[Main Part]

Futarasan-Jinja Shrine

So far I visited Shinkyo Bridge, Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple and Nikko Toshogu Shrine among the World Heritage “Shrines and Temples of Nikko” area and then will visit Futarasan-Jinja Shrine.

Futarasan-Jinja Shrine deifies Mt. Futarasan (Mt. Nantaisan) as its object of worship.

Front shrine. Compared with Nikko Toshogu Shrine, it was modestly decorated.

Approach to the shrine.

With 90 mm mid-range telescopic lens.

Another shot.

Main gate.

Other snaps.

Then, I moved to the next destination.

Taiyuin Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple

As the last spot of the World Heritage “Shrines and Temples of Nikko” area, I came to Taiyuin Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple.

Taiyuin Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple is the mausoleum of Tokugawa Iemitsu, a grandson of Tokugawa Ieyassu and the third Shogun of the Edo bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun).

In accordance with Ieyassu’s will that no other mausoleums should surpass Nikko Toshogu Shrine (Ieyassu’s mausoleum), Taiyuin Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple was traditional and calm.

Yasha-mon gate.

Kara-mon gate.

Here are snaps around the front hall and the main hall.

Now I finished walking around the World Heritage “Shrines and Temples of Nikko” area and additionally visited another place on the second day of the trip.

Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park

The place I visited as the last spot was Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park.

Tamozawa Imperial Villa was originally built in 1899 as an retreat for the imperial family. Then, it has been open to the public as a memorial park since 2000.

The park had a tranquil atmosphere.

The entrance of the house.

I will look around the house.

Billiard room.f

Other snaps.

I will walk around the garden.

There was a pond in the garden and it was beautiful in combination with snow scenery.

Then, I will check in Nikko Kanaya Hotel where I stayed on the second day of the trip.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about Futarasan-Jinja Shrine, Taiyuin Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple and Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park as part of Day 2 of my Nikko trip.

Regarding the World Heritage “Shrines and Temples of Nikko”, Nikko Toshogu Shrine is the most famous spot while other shrines and temples tend to get less attention. However, Futarasan-Jinja Shrine and Taiyuin Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple, which I visited in this article, were both attractive. Also, Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park was very photogenic due to its retro atmosphere 🙂

In the next article, I will write about Nikko Kanaya Hotel where I stayed on the second day.

[Map]

1 Futarasan-Jinja Shrine
2 Taiyuin Nikkosan Rinno-Ji Temple
3 Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park

I would appreciate it if you could share my article via the following SNS buttons.