Well, after arriving at Nikko and having some tasty, hot ramen, we decided to set out for the temples and shrines. Our pass gave us admission to Rinnoji Temple, Togoshu Shring, and the Futarasan Shrine.
We only made it through the first two sites before 3:30, when the temples close in the winter. Both Rinnoji and Toshogu were incredibly impressive visually. The are both done in a stunning Chinese-style with intricate carvings and elaborate colors. The weather on Sunday was not ideal for photography, because it was overcast, and much of the area had a light cover of snow, which caused there to be some exposure issues.
I took some video of the areas, which I will edit and post. In the meantime, here are some of the better photos from the ones I was able to get.
Rinnoji Temple
Sanbutsudoh Hall (Three Buddha Hall, roughly): A caretaker scurries around the side of the main shrine, which housed three large buddha statues. We were not allowed to photograph the inside. The temple was also under renovation, so the three statues presented an intimidating, but beautiful, sight.
Gohoh-tendoh prayer hall: A hall located behind the Sanbutsudoh hall, and is for the private benefit of prayer. It had a lot of chairs inside where people could sit and ruminate. It was very peaceful.
Sorintou Tower: The Sohrintoh Tower was located in Oku-in (Inner House) of Toshogu Shrine originally, but was relocated to another place near Futarasan Shrine in 1650. After that, the tower was moved to today’s place in 1875. The last relocation was caused by the law that Meiji government announced to separate Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple.
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