Spring in Nikko

pagoda at Nikko shrine

It's spring in Japan, but today returned to winter as we drove from Tokyo to Nikko, site of one of Japan's most cherished Shinto shrines and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The shrine surrounds the tomb of the shogun who built Tokyo.  It has been beautifully restored to its former brilliant colors and artistry.  The tomb itself is 300 steps above the shrine buildings, a nice climb after a 2+ hour bus ride from Tokyo.

In the sunshine, the shrine and surrounding mountains would be stunning, but today it rained all day, which muted the scenery with mist and clouds.  Nonetheless, as we drove higher into the mountains, the cherry trees became more spectacular in their clouds of white and pink blossoms until we got so high that they hadn't even started to bloom.  The Japanese love cherry blossoms more than any other flower, so there are thousands of cherry trees planted in parks and gardens and alongside the highways and fields.

cherry tree at Nikko shrine

 

Since today was Monday, the crowds were somewhat diminished, but still there.  Japanese Shinto followers visit the shrines to ask the god or gods to grant a wish.  To make your wish, you first bow twice to the altar, then clap your hands twice, then bow again and make your wish before leaving some offering to the god, either money or food or some personal treasure. 

Some of the charming carvings at the shrine depict the life cycle of the monkeys who live in the area, from birth to growing up to courtship and back to birth. 

carved monkey with baby

Next to the walkways are stone animals.  I particularly liked the turtles. 

stone turtle at Nikko

Farther up the mountainside, above Nikko, is a lovely lake filling a caldera, Lake Chuzenji.  Off to one side is the extinct volcano that formed the caldera on one of its flanks, today glazed in snow.  The trees and buildings had a dusting of snow, making the scene dreamy and gray, with a few bright red buildings adding their touch of color to the scene.

The lake flows into the Kegon Waterfall, 300 feet high.  Below the falls, the river is contained in a narrow valley and an even narrower man-made, overly-concrete bed, perhaps to help contain flood run-offs.  I can't imagine why else one would take a gorgeous river valley and turn it into concrete.

snowy spring day at Lake Chuzenji

The road from Nikko to the Lake is an engineering masterpiece.  It is one way each way, with 24 hairpin turns going up and 24 going down, each marked with a number and one of the 48 letters of the Japanese alphabet (based on sounds, not letters as we know them since Japanese is written in Chinese characters).  On many of the turns, the road has been built atop a rock and concrete structure that supports the road.  These artificial structures are massive and must be designed to withstand Japan's frequent earthquakes.  The road down with all its hairpins is fully visible from the top since the mountainside is so steep as it drops into the valley.

Lake Chuzenji
 

I've visited Japan at least 8 times and continue to be surprised by what I learn about its traditions and its scientific prowess.  Right now, it is consumed with its economic problems and the enormous and lasting damage of the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami.  Then there is the demographic problem of a rapidly declining population, compounded with a deep aversion to immigration.  We expect to learn much more about these issues over the coming days. 

Kegon Waterfall above Nikko