Day trip to Nikko: Toshogu, Shinkyo bridge, the imperial villa and Kegon Falls

The compact version of Nikko in one day from Tokyo: an express train in the morning, the gilded mausoleum, a red bridge, a yuba meal, an emperor's summer house with 106 rooms, and at the end an elevator into the rock facing a 97-meter waterfall. Back to Asakusa for dinner.

Nikko in one day from Tokyo, in the compact version, with a summer palace most visitors miss. You leave Asakusa on the morning express, pass the red bridge and climb to Toshogu ahead of the crowds, and eat yuba by the bridge. After lunch you walk on to the Tamozawa Imperial Villa, which is still in town, and only from there take the bus up to Kegon Falls, and one bus takes you from the falls straight down to the station. About 5 km on foot, plus the steps to the tomb. The three Tobu bus rides cost ¥2,620 together, so the 'Chuzenji Onsen Free Pass', ¥2,300 for two days, saves ¥320 on this day.

Verified online, October 20267 stops · 07:50 to 21:30¥12,000 · ≈ $76 per personWalking between stops: 50 min · Transport: ¥2,620Day trip from TokyoGood with kidsAutumn foliage: late October

The day on a map

6 stops, in order

Stops: 6
Walking minutes: 38

Stop number on the timelineWalkingTrain, metro or busBase map: © OpenStreetMap

Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

Getting there: You leave from Tobu-Asakusa Station. The fast way is Spacia X, which leaves at 07:50 and reaches Tobu-Nikko at 09:39: a regular seat is ¥3,340, that is ¥1,400 fare plus a ¥1,940 surcharge, and the surcharge shifts between regular, busy and quiet seasons. The Kegon or Revaty express costs ¥3,050 (¥1,650 surcharge), about 1 hour and 55 minutes, and on some trains you change at Shimo-Imaichi. On regular trains only it is ¥1,400 and about three hours. If you are leaving from Tokyo Station you can go by JR: the Yamabiko shinkansen to Utsunomiya and from there the JR Nikko Line, 1 hour and 44 minutes, ¥5,260 in a non-reserved seat, or without the shinkansen, 2 hours and 41 minutes, ¥2,750. JR Nikko Station is a 5-minute walk from Tobu-Nikko. The Tobu buses on this day: from the station to Shinkyo ¥220, from the villa to Chuzenji Onsen ¥1,150, and from there back to the station ¥1,250. The 'Chuzenji Onsen Free Pass', ¥2,300 for two days, covers the whole stretch from the station to Chuzenji Onsen. The 'World Heritage loop' bus ticket, ¥600, runs only in the shrine area and does not go up to the lake. Tobu's NIKKO PASS, for foreign tourists: the World Heritage area version, ¥3,000, does not include the bus to Chuzenji, and the all-area version, ¥8,000, costs more than all of the day's rides put together.

07:5009:40
TrainMust
Tobu Asakusa Station: Spacia X, the bento and the view
You start on the express. The 07:50 departure arrives at 09:39, just ahead of the school groups. Reserve the seat on the Tobu website, and the panoramic cockpit seats sell out first. Buy an ekiben, a train bento, at the station. At Tobu-Nikko pick up a map from the information desk, and board the bus to Shinkyo.
¥3,340 · ≈ $21Reserve the express seat in advance.Open in Maps
Ride to Shinkyo Bridge
- Bus · 8 min · ¥220Tobu bus C, Y or M from stops 2A and 2C in front of the station, to the Shinkyo stop, 4 minutes. You get off opposite the bridge.
- or: Walk · 25 minOn foot: about 1.9 km, all the way along the main street and on a gentle climb.
10:0010:20
Stop 1BridgeRecommended
Shinkyo Bridge: the red bridge over the Daiya river
The sacred bridge from the 17th century, since rebuilt, red against green. Photograph it from the road for free. Walking onto it costs ¥300, and there is not much to it. From here the climb up the cedar avenue to the shrines begins.
FreeOpen in Maps
Up to the shrines
- Walk · 13 minAcross the road, climb the stone steps, then the avenue between the cedars, about a kilometer to Toshogu's stone gate.
On the way you can stop at:
Rinno-ji: Nikko's main Buddhist temple, right on the avenue, with three gilded Buddha statues 8 meters tall in the Sanbutsu-do hall. ¥400.
10:3012:30
Stop 2ShrineMust
Nikko Toshogu: the Yomeimon gate, the three monkeys and the sleeping cat
500 gilded carvings on the mausoleum of Ieyasu. The Yomeimon gate is called the 'sunset gate', because you can look at it until the sun goes down. Look for the three monkeys on the stable and the sleeping cat above the passage to the tomb, and climb 200 steps to the tomb itself. Admission is ¥1,600, and from 31 March 2026 the ticket machines take cash only. You stay here two hours.
¥1,600 · ≈ $10Open in Maps
Down to lunch
- Walk · 10 minWalk back down the same avenue to the bridge, about 750 meters. The restaurants are on the main road, on both sides of the bridge.
12:4513:30
Stop 3LunchRecommended
Lunch break near the bridge
In Nikko you eat yuba, the soy milk skin the monks ate here, in a lunch set, or in a bun from a street stall if you want to keep moving fast. Finish by 13:30, so you reach the villa with a full hour before the bus to the lake. Choose:
- Yuba Yuzen¥2,860 to ¥3,630
  Yuba in seven forms in a lunch box: tofu, shumai, simmered yuba and black rice, and in the larger sets also fresh yuba like sashimi. 11:30 to 15:00, or until the ingredients run out. Closed on Wednesdays (the next day if Wednesday is a holiday), and in winter on other days too. Credit cards are accepted. 250 meters west of the bridge.
- Hippari Dako
  A simple place on the main road, near the bridge: yakisoba with yakitori and rice, or ramen with yuba, in big portions. There are vegetarian dishes and an English menu. Open on weekdays only, 11:00 to 15:00.
- Kanaya Hotel, the dining room¥5,500
  In the hotel's old building, at the top of the climb from the Shinkyo stop: the 'hundred-year curry' meal with salad, dessert and coffee or tea. Last order at 14:30, and you can reserve a table in advance.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥2,860 · ≈ $18Open in Maps
On to the imperial villa
- Walk · 15 minWest along the main road, about 1.1 km on a gentle climb, to the villa gate.
13:4514:45
Stop 4VillaRecommended
Tamozawa Imperial Villa: the imperial summer house with 106 rooms
A huge wooden villa from 1899 with 106 rooms, where Emperor Emeritus Akihito, then a child, lived for about a year during the war. A blend of Edo and the West, and a garden with a weeping cherry. Admission is ¥600, with a discount for holders of the bus pass. From April to October last entry is 16:00 and the villa closes at 17:00, and from November to March last entry is 15:45 and it closes at 16:30, which is why it comes before the climb up the mountain and not after. Closed on Tuesdays (the next day if Tuesday is a holiday), except in the peak weeks, such as 15 October to 14 November. On a Tuesday when it is closed, go up to Kegon right after lunch.
¥600 · ≈ $4Open in Maps
Up to Kegon Falls
- Bus · 45 min · ¥1,150From the 'Nikko Tamozawa Goyotei Kinen Koen' stop opposite the gate, a Tobu bus to Chuzenji Onsen or to Yumoto Onsen, to Chuzenji Onsen, 39 minutes up the Iroha road. In the afternoon there is a bus about every 20 minutes. From there it is a 5-minute walk to the falls.
On the way you can stop at:
Akechidaira: At the top of the climb you pass the ropeway station for the viewpoint over the falls and the lake. The ropeway is closed for renovation until September 2027, so you do not get off here.
15:3516:20
Stop 5WaterfallMust
Kegon Falls: the elevator 100 meters into the rock
The bus has climbed to the plateau on the Iroha road, with its 48 hairpin turns. The elevator, ¥600 round trip, goes down to a platform facing the falls, 97 meters, with spray in your face. There is also a free viewpoint at the top. The elevator runs from 1 March to 30 November 08:00 to 17:00, and from December to February 09:00 to 16:30. On weekends in the foliage season the bus up takes two hours, and that is worth thinking about in advance: on those days skip the villa and go up right after lunch. From here one bus takes you straight down to the station.
¥600 · ≈ $4Open in Maps
Down to Tobu-Nikko Station
- Bus · 45 min · ¥1,2505 minutes on foot back to the Chuzenji Onsen stop, and a Tobu bus toward Nikko to Tobu-Nikko, 36 minutes without traffic. The 16:28 and 16:35 buses arrive in time for the 17:44 Spacia X, and the last one leaves at 20:02.
On the way you can stop at:
Kanaya bakery opposite the station: The cafe and bakery of the Kanaya Hotel, opposite Tobu-Nikko, a place to wait for the train with bread or pie. Open until 18:00, varies by season.
17:4521:30
Stop 6Train and eveningMust
Asakusa Hoppy Street: express back to Asakusa and an izakaya by the temple
You return on the express: the last Spacia X leaves at 17:44 and reaches Asakusa at 19:35, and after it the Kegon at 18:41, arriving at 20:35. Book the return seat together with the outbound one, because the last trains are full. In Asakusa eat near the temple: on Hoppy Street, beef stew and beer, or ramen at Ichiran Asakusa, which is open until 22:00 (last order 21:45). On the way to the hotel the temple is lit up and empty.
¥3,000 · ≈ $19Reserve the return seat together with the outbound one.Open in Maps