Tochigi · Nikko SannaiNo.1043★★★Open in map →
Nikkozan Rinnoji and Taiyuin
— Iemitsu's mausoleum beside Toshogu
The temple side of Nikko's World Heritage precinct: a vast wooden main hall at one end, and at the other, up a cedar-lined slope, the black-and-gold mausoleum built for the third Tokugawa shogun. One ticket covers both.
- FromAsakusa Station
- ~2 hr 15 minLimited express + loop bus
- Get off atShodo Shonin Statue bus stop (World Heritage Loop Bus)
- From there
- Nikkozan Rinnoji and Taiyuin
Where it is
16 more notes in Tochigi · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Sanbutsudo, the main hallvermilion and two-tiered, raised on a stone platform at the eastern end of the precinct
- Nitenmon gatea two-storey gate partway up the stepped approach to the mausoleum
- The stone lanterns315 of them standing through the grounds, moss-grown under the cedars
- Haiden, Ainoma and Hondenthe worship hall, connecting chamber and main hall, finished in black lacquer and gold
- Kokamon gatethe white-walled gate closing the back of the grounds, its shape likened to the dragon palace of legend
How to actually get there
- Asakusa Station → Tobu Nikko Station (Tobu Nikko Line, limited express).
- Tobu Nikko Station → Shodo Shonin Statue stop (World Heritage Loop Bus, route W, about 9 min).
- Sanbutsudo → walk west through the precinct, past Toshogu, to Taiyuin.
- Taiyuin → back to the station by loop bus from the Taiyuin–Futarasan Jinja mae stop.
- Tobu limited express from Asakusa, then the loop bus
- Asakusa Station →(Tobu Nikko Line, limited express)→ Tobu Nikko Station, then the World Heritage Loop Bus (route W) from the station forecourt, about nine minutes to the Shodo Shonin Statue stop. Local and rapid trains on the same line cost less and take longer.
- Return by the same loop bus
- Take the loop bus back to Tobu Nikko Station or JR Nikko Station for the run to Asakusa or Utsunomiya. Buses thin out late in the afternoon and the precinct shuts before dark, so check the return before you start walking west.
About the place
Rinnoji is the Tendai temple that gave Nikko its name, and it holds both ends of the mountain precinct. Near the eastern entrance stands the Sanbutsudo, its main hall, which the temple and the city both describe as the largest wooden building on the Nikko mountain. Inside are three gilded figures — Senju Kannon, Amida Nyorai and Bato Kannon — standing for the three peaks of Nikko. Walk west past Toshogu and the Futarasan shrine and the ground rises into cedar forest. There the temple keeps Taiyuin, in black lacquer and gold rather than the white and vermilion glare next door.
How to enjoy it
Gates open at 8:00, and the combined ticket is best used in one direction — Sanbutsudo first, then west to the mausoleum, rather than doubling back. Admission closes thirty minutes before the gates do, and the stepped approach at the western end takes longer than it looks. Arriving late in the day, reverse the order and go west first.
Background & history
The mountain was opened in 766, when the monk Shodo Shonin founded the first hall here and made Nikko a place of practice. Rinnoji grew into a Tendai complex led for centuries by abbots of imperial birth, and its fortunes rose again when the Tokugawa chose Nikko for Ieyasu's shrine. Taiyuin was raised in 1653 for Iemitsu, Ieyasu's grandson, who had asked to go on serving him after death; his successor Ietsuna built it. Its main hall, connecting chamber and worship hall are National Treasures.
Before you go
- Cash
- The Rinnoji ticket covering both Sanbutsudo and Taiyuin was 900 yen for adults when checked, with single tickets for each sold separately at 400 and 550 yen. Ticket windows are staffed rather than automated, so carry cash. Tobu sells bus passes for the Nikko area, worth asking about at the station if you plan several rides.
- Before you go
- Closing shifts with the season: 17:00 from April to October, 16:00 from November to March. Nikko sits high enough for real snow, and the stone steps up to the mausoleum ice over in winter.
- Another way
- From Tokyo you can also take the Tohoku Shinkansen to Utsunomiya and change to the JR Nikko Line, which ends at JR Nikko Station a few minutes' walk from the Tobu one. The same loop bus serves both stations.
- After you get off
- From the Shodo Shonin Statue stop, the Sanbutsudo is immediately above the road. For Taiyuin, either stay on the bus to the Taiyuin–Futarasan Jinja mae stop or walk west along the precinct road past Toshogu.