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Senjo-ga-hara Plateau
From either Tobu Nikko Station or JR Nikko Station, take the Tobu Bus for Yumoto Onsen via Chuzenji-ko. The entrances to the Senjo-ga-hara area are Akanuma-chaya, Sanbon-matsu, Kotoku-iriguchi and Yutaki-iriguchi. There also is the Senjo-ga-hara Plateau Study Road of Nature which takes three hours to walk.

Shinkyo Bridge

This is a sacred red bridge used for crossing Daiya-gawa River to go to Nikko-sannai. Legend says that when high priest Shodo Shonin who opened Nikko to the public, was prevented from crossing the torrential river, he began to pray and the Great Jinja appeared. He answered the high priest's prayers by creating two snakes, one red and one blue, to form the bridge.

*Nikko is well known for its national treasures of architecture such as Tosho-gu Shrine, Futara-san Shrine and Rinno-ji Temple. Together they are called Nisha-ichiji and are situated in a beautiful place called Nikko-sannai. This location, along with Oku-Nikko and Lake Chuzenji-ko, is very popular for its wonderful natural scenery.
Admission: Adults 900 yen (an additional 500 yen is required to see Nemuri-neko, Okusha, or to cross Shinkyo Bridge).

20-min. walk from Tobu Nikko Station to Nisha-ichiji.

Tosho-gu Shrine

People have said "See Nikko and die" due to its ornate style and extreme richness of the architectural beauty. It was built by the third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu and completed within only 1 year and 5 months under the strong will of the first shogun of the Yedo period (1603-1867), Tokugawa Ieyasu. 9 million people participated in its construction. This great effort to build Tosho-gu Shrine demonstrated the power of the Tokugawa family during that period. The highly technical carvings, which consist of animals, plants and spiritual beasts painted in gold, red, green, yellow and white, have deep meanings. You will be overwhelmed by its majestic atmosphere.

Ichi-no-torii (sacred arch)
This is a 9 meter tall sacred arch situated in Omote-sando Street. It was made from granite which was quarried from within the grounds.

Goju-no-to (a five story pagoda)
After passing under Ichi-no-torii, you will find a five story pagoda on your left side. It was built using a Chinese style of architecture called Kara-yo (Zenshyu-yo).

Omote-mon Gate
Omote-mon is a gate which has a very unique combination of both shrine and temple decorative styles. Two pairs of sculptures stand in front of and behind the gate's pillars. The front pair is of Nio-zo (Deva Kings) and the back of Komainu (Amulet dogs). You will see 82 carvings of animals on the pillar and kaeru-mata (a structure supporting the weight of the column which resembles a pair of frog legs), including depictions of tapirs, elephant heads, and mythical creatures.

San-jinko
After going through the Omote-mon Gate, there are three red colored San-jinko (sacred storehouses). One of these, Kami-jinko, is well known for its two elephant sculptures, one white and one black, called Sozo-no-zo.

Shinkyusha
Shinkyusha is a barn called umaya where the sacred horses were kept. One of the most famous carvings located here is San-en. It depicts three monkeys covering their eyes, mouth and ears. It demonstrates avoiding misfortune by "seeing no evil", "hearing no evil", and "speaking no evil". These monkeys were considered to be guardian angels for the horses. San-en

Honchi-do
This is the place where Tosho-dai-gongen (another name of the first shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu) is enshrined. Until the fire of 1961, if you clapped your hands inside this building, you could hear the sound of a Dragon's roar called Nakiryu. Although this phenomenon stopped occurring since Honchi-do was rebuilt after the fire, a guide will reproduce the dragon's roaring for you by striking clappers.

Yomei-mon Gate
This is a symbolic gate which has various kinds of carvings and gives you a vivid impression. The carvings consist of dragons, mythical beasts and hermits. Yomei-mon has a second name, Higurashi-mon, which means you lose track of time's passing as you look upon this gate's beauty.

Nemuri-neko Nemuri-neko
On top of the Kuguri-mon Gate (in front of the Sakashita-mon Gate) is a carving of Nemuri-neko (a curled up sleeping cat). On the back of the Nemuri-neko are carvings of two playing sparrows. The cat together with the two sparrows represents the wish for peace and happiness in the world. There is an additional fee for seeing the Nemuri-neko.

Futara-san Shrine

Futara-san Shrine is the heart of the Nikko Sangaku Shinko religion (mountain worship) and is where many of the gods are enshrined. Almost the complete opposite of the showy Tosho-gu Shrine, the atmosphere of the Futara-san Shrine is very conservative. The red colored sanctuary and the main shrine were contributed by the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada. It is the oldest building in Nikko San-nai. You can also see the Bake-doro (a candle, according to legend, with a flame that took the form of a monster) and a 1,100-year-old tree named Koyamaki.

Rinno-ji Temple

If you walk along an avenue of cedar trees (located in front of the Shinkyo Bridge), you will see the statue of Shodo Shonin and Sanbutsu-do (three Buddha Hall). In this Sanbutsu-do, there are enshrined three gods: Bato-kannon (the god of Mt. Nantai-san), Amida-nyorai (the god of Mt. Nyoho-san) and Senju-kannon (the god of Mt. Taro-san).

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