12 attractions with a verified description
Central Nikko · Shrine
The gilded mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu: 500 painted carvings, the Yomeimon gate, the three monkeys and the sleeping cat. ¥1,600, and from 31 March 2026 the machines take cash only. Two hours.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: DXR / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Central Nikko · Temple
The main Buddhist temple of Nikko, with three gilded Buddha statues 8 meters tall in the Sanbutsudo hall. ¥400, and the Shoyo-en garden for an extra ¥300. Less crowded than Toshogu, and in the same compound.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Zairon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Central Nikko · Free
Nikko's Shinto shrine from 782, dedicated to the mountains of the area. The grounds are free, the inner area ¥300. Completely quiet compared with Toshogu, which is 3 minutes away, and the road to Lake Chuzenji starts from here.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: DXR / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Central Nikko · Free
A red lacquered bridge from the 17th century over the Daiya River, at the entrance to the shrine area. The photo from the road is free, going onto the bridge is ¥300. In the autumn foliage at the end of October its red stands against the yellow of the trees.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Lake Chuzenji · Nature
A waterfall of 97 meters from Lake Chuzenji. An elevator goes down 100 meters inside the rock to a platform facing the falls, ¥600 round trip. There is also a free viewpoint from above. In winter part of it freezes.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Jaccardc2 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Lake Chuzenji · Free
A volcanic lake at 1,270 meters with Mount Nantai behind it, 45 minutes by bus from Nikko on a road with 48 hairpin turns. Free. The summer villas of the British and Italian embassies are open to visitors (¥300 each).
Price checked September 2026
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Oku-Nikko · Free
The 'Dragon's Head' waterfall, which flows down a wide slope between rocks, above Lake Chuzenji. Free, with a teahouse that looks straight at it. In the autumn foliage (early October, earlier than in town) it is one of the most beautiful places in Kanto.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Oku-Nikko · Ropeway
Closed for renovation until September 2027. A three-minute ropeway to a viewpoint from which you see Kegon Falls and Lake Chuzenji together, the most complete view in the area. ¥1,000 round trip. You stop at it on the way up, before the lake.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Miyuki Meinaka / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Central Nikko · Historic building
A wooden villa from 1899 with 106 rooms, where the current emperor lived as a child during the war. ¥600. A mix of Edo and Western styles, a garden with a 400-year-old weeping cherry tree, and almost no visitors.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Central Nikko · Free
A river gorge with a petrified lava flow and a row of about 70 Jizo statues with red caps, whose number, according to the legend, changes with every count. Free, a 20-minute trail, and almost no one there.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Kinugawa · Good with kids
An Edo-period theme park: recreated streets, actors in the roles of samurai and ninja, oiran shows and a haunted house. About ¥5,800. A full day with kids, 20 minutes from Nikko by bus.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Abasaa / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Oku-Nikko · Free
A wide waterfall that flows out of Lake Yunoko in Oku-Nikko, at the edge of the Senjogahara plain. Free. A viewing deck right at its foot, and from there an easy one-hour boardwalk across the marshland.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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