Two hours north of Tokyo on the Tobu Asakusa line is the historic town of Nikko - one of the great centres of Japanese religion and power. As such, it`s one of the busiest places in the country, and as yesterday was a major festival there I figured if I went a day later it would be quiet. It certainly was here - the Gamman-ga-Fuji Abyss. The gorge of the River Daiya is bounded by dozens of these statues of Jizo, protector of travellers and the souls of `departed children`. Green moss offset against the bright red clothes on the Jizos, with nobody in sight, it was really eerie.
The Abyss was quiet because it was a thirty minute walk away from the main centre of Nikko activity - Tosho-gu, a sacred site since the 8th Century. In 1617 the area was chosen as the burial place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first of the Tokugawa Shoguns and founder of the shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250yrs until the Meiji Restoration of 1868. His shrine was constructed by 15,000 artisans, and is a World Heritage site. I took this on the main approach path, and thought "Well, there`s a few people up ahead, but maybe it`ll be reasonably quiet."
Err, no, not really. This happens a lot in the touristy parts of Japan, there`s not much to do but wait. Trouble was, it was pouring down by this point so I just toughed it out and charged into the mass of umbrellas. Incidentally, the sign at the bottom of the steps reads `keep left`.
Tosho-gu is also famed for it`s carvings, there are the three monkeys posed in the `hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil` style, there`s a white horse in a mock stable, a crying dragon in a room with strange sound properties (an echo directly underneath the dragon but nowhere else) - and these elephants. If you think they look a bit strange, the man who carved them had never seen one, he just followed verbal instructions of someone who had.
But back to the main shrine gate - Yomeimon. Up close (about fifteen minutes of shuffling later) it was covered in figures of mythical creatures and wise men. In classic Japanese style, the team of artisans who put this stunner together were so concerned that it`s brilliance might offend the gods, they put the final supporting pillar on upside-down, as a deliberate mistake so it wasn`t exactly perfect.
Um, sumimasen!
After three hours of soaking wet wandering around, the perfect pick-me-up is a can of Itoen Darjeeling blend milk tea. Delivered hot from a vending machine for Y120, they are incredibly sweet and milky, with a background hint of tea somewhere. But after fighting the crowds in the cold climate of the Nikko mountains, it`s just what was needed at the end of a long day. (yes, it really is that colour)
