Easy Travel in Japan
Nikko rewards a second day. Day one covers the UNESCO shrine and temple complex — Toshogu, Rinno-ji, Futarasan, and Shinkyo Bridge — all within easy walking distance of central Nikko, with an overnight stay to break up the trip. Day two heads up the Irohazaka switchbacks into Okunikko for Kegon Falls, Lake Chuzenji, and a marshland boardwalk, before heading back to Tokyo in the afternoon. It’s a fuller, less rushed version of the classic Nikko day trip — every leg is short, so there’s room to slow down anywhere that catches you.
Nikko's World Heritage shrines and temple, all within easy walking distance of central Nikko.
1Tobu Railway's limited express trains — the Revaty or Spacia X — run directly from Tobu-Asakusa to Tobu-Nikko Station in about 1 hour 50 minutes, with the limited express fee purchased separately from the base fare. It's a comfortable, reserved-seat ride, so it's worth booking a day or two ahead on weekends. An early departure gets you to the shrine complex before the day-trip crowds from Tokyo arrive.
2From Tobu-Nikko Station, it's a short walk or bus ride up to Shinkyo, the vermilion bridge over the Daiya River that marks the traditional entrance to Nikko's sacred precinct. The view from the riverside is free; crossing it costs a small ticket. Either way, it's a natural first stop before the walk up toward the shrine complex proper.
3A short uphill walk from Shinkyo brings you to Rinno-ji, whose Sanbutsudo hall is the largest wooden structure in eastern Japan, housing three seven-meter gilded Buddhist statues. Budget 45 minutes to an hour, longer if the Shoyo-en garden is of interest.
4Toshogu, right next door to Rinno-ji, is the main event: the elaborate mausoleum shrine built for Tokugawa Ieyasu, spread across more than a dozen buildings decorated with wood carvings and gold leaf. Give it at least 90 minutes to see the Yomeimon Gate properly and hunt down the famous sleeping cat and three wise monkeys carvings elsewhere on the grounds.
5Several small restaurants near the shrine entrance serve yuba, Nikko's tofu-skin specialty, as sashimi-style slices, simmered dishes, or a soba topping. It's a light, distinctly local lunch that fits naturally into a day spent mostly on foot between temples.
6About 200 meters west of Toshogu, Futarasan predates its famous neighbor by more than 800 years and is considerably quieter. Half an hour is enough for the main hall; the small paid garden to the side, with old sacred trees and a spring, is worth the extra time if the day allows.
7Pick up a yuba musubi — sticky rice wrapped in a sheet of Nikko yuba — from Fudaraku Honpo or a similar shop on the walk back down, then settle into a ryokan for the night in central Nikko or nearby Kinugawa Onsen. Seeing Okunikko's lake, waterfall, and marshland as well genuinely calls for the extra day rather than rushing both halves into one.
Up into the mountains for the waterfall, lake, and marshland that round out a full Nikko trip.
1A bus from Tobu-Nikko Station climbs the Irohazaka road up to Chuzenjiko Onsen in about 50 minutes, running every 30 minutes and passing all 48 named hairpin curves along the way. It's worth an aisle-free window seat if you can get one — the switchbacks are as much the point of the morning as the destination.
2From the Chuzenjiko Onsen bus stop, it's a five-minute walk to Kegon Falls, a 97-meter single-drop waterfall regarded as one of Japan's three most famous. The upper platform is free, but the elevator ride 100 meters down through bedrock to the lower observation deck is worth the small fee for how much more dramatic the falls look up close.
3A short walk from the falls brings you to the shore of Lake Chuzenji itself, a volcanic lake at over 1,200 meters elevation with Mount Nantai rising directly behind the water. Walk along the shore, rent a rowboat, or simply sit somewhere quiet — it's noticeably cooler up here than back in town, and worth the slower pace after a busy morning.
4A short onward bus ride brings you to the Senjogahara boardwalk trail, a Ramsar-listed wetland with a path running several kilometers through open marsh and birch woodland toward Yumoto Onsen. You don't need to walk the whole thing — even an hour or so on the flat, easy boardwalk is enough to feel a long way from the shrine crowds of the day before.
5Catch the bus back down the Irohazaka road to Tobu-Nikko Station, about 50 minutes, in time for a limited express back to Asakusa. Build in some buffer before your train — the descent has the same 48 curves as the way up, just in the opposite direction, and it's not a road to rush.
A quick, friendly rundown of Hakone's biggest highlights — from the steaming valley of Owakudani to a pirate-ship crossing of Lake Ashi — a good starting point for a first visit.
A quick, friendly rundown of Kamakura's biggest highlights — from the open-air Great Buddha to a bamboo grove tea house — a good starting point for a first visit to this coastal temple town.
A coastal temple town under an hour from Tokyo, dense with over 800 years of Zen Buddhist history — a friendly starting point for planning a day (or two) among the Great Buddha, bamboo groves, and a seaside train line.
