My trip to Japan: Nikko
One part of the tour to Nikko we travelled by Shinkansen. Most impressive was not the ride itself but the speed at which the train races through those stations it doesn’t stop at. The average speed of the Shinkansen is 280 km/h (174 mph – and that already includes the stops!), and they pass the train station with this speed as well. It’s really crazy to watch a 400m-long train pass the station in 5 seconds. From Ueno in Tokyo we took the Shinkansen to Utsunomiya, where we changed trains and travelled the rest of the way to Nikko with a slow train. We had been told to dress warmly, and indeed, Nikko is relatively high in the mountains and quite a bit colder than Tokyo. We visited three shrines and one temple, and I have to say that the shrines of shogun Tokugawa Ieasu and his grandson Tokugawa Iemitsu are among the most beautiful and magnificient we saw on our journey. The setting is of course supports the effect quite well: the shrines and temples are surrounded by a forest of huge old cedars, providing them with a suitably enchanted feeling. =)
Rinno-ji temple in Nikko
Blue elephant at a shrine in Nikko
Detail of dragon heads at one of the shrines' gates
Mausoleum with lantern, in the background huge cedar trees
Bronze lanterns in front of a shrine
