About Nikkō Tōshō-gū
Toshogu Shrine is a shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founding shogun of the Edo Shogunate, the last generation of the Japanese shogunate. During his reign, Tokugawa Ieyasu overcame the warlords by force and unified Japan, and after his death, he was honored as the patron deity of the Edo Shogunate, “Toshogu Daikonjin. There are many Toshogu Shrines throughout Japan, and the most famous one is Nikko Toshogu Shrine, which is the main shrine of all Toshogu Shrines.
Nikko Toshogu Shrine is located on Nikko Hill in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, and was built in 1617 (Genwa 3). “It is customary to add the name of the place before the name of the shrine in order to distinguish it from other shrines. The whole structure is a combination of “Gonzen-zukuri” and “Hachiman-zukuri”: Gonzen-zukuri has a large amount of stone as the foundation and a wooden structure, while Hachiman-zukuri has a two-story structure, i.e., the whole Nikko Toshogu Shrine is built with stone as the foundation and a front hall and a back hall. On December 2, 1999, Nikko Toshogu Shrine was inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the “Shrines and Temples of Nikko”.
Nikko Toshogu Shrine is a valuable cultural asset of Japan with its collection of valuable cultural relics, and the annual festival is held on May 17 and May 18.
How to get there
Tobu Nikko” station on the Tobu Line, “Nikko” station on the JR Line
■Walk: approx. 35 minutes
■Car: approx. 10 minutes
■Bus: approx. 10 minutes ・Tobu Bus (bound for Chuzenji Onsen/Yumoto Onsen) →”Sogo Kaikan-mae” and “Nishi-Sando Iriguchi” bus stops ・World Heritage Site circulation bus →”Omotesando” bus stop
Tips
Open hours April-October: 9:00-17:00, November-March: 9:00-16:00 (Registration closes 30 minutes before the gate closes in each period) Closed Admission:
Adults and high school students: 1,300 yen,
elementary and junior high school students: 450 yen
