Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
F.W. Horne. The various houses amid the trees are now fancy restaurants (see p.213),
but even if you don't eat here, it's worth wandering around to take in the pretty gardens
and sylvan setting.
Kosugi Hōan Museum of Art
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, Kosugi Hōan Bijutsukan • 2388-3 Sannai • Daily except Mon 9.30am-5pm • ¥700
A couple of minutes' walk uphill from Shin-kyō bridge, the modern, terracotta-
coloured
Kosugi Hōan Museum of Art
displays the dreamily beautiful figurative and
landscape paintings of local artist Hōan (1920-64). Concerts are occasionally held here
in the evenings - ask at the tourist o
ce (see p.212).
Nikkō Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park
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, Nikkō Tamozawa Goyōtei Kinen Kōen • Off Nihon Romantic Highway • Daily except Tues
9am-4.30pm • ¥500
The Zen-like simplicity of the beautifully restored
Nikkō Tamozawa Imperial Villa
Memorial Park
provides a stark contrast to Nikkō's temples and shrines. A ten-minute
walk west of the Shin-kyō bridge along the main road, this 106-room residence,
surrounded by manicured gardens (including a 400-year-old weeping cherry tree),
combines buildings of widely different heritage, some parts dating back to 1632. Three
emperors have lived in it, including the Emperor Akihito, who was evacuated here
during the war. As you stroll along the corridors, take time to appreciate the intricate
details and the gorgeous screen paintings.
20
Ganman-ga-fuchi abyss
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The wonderfully named
Ganman-ga-fuchi abyss
, a few hundred metres west of the
Nikkō Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park, is an easy walk from central Nikko,
and a tranquil escape from the city. Despite the bombastic moniker, the “abyss” is
actually a gentle riverside path that hugs the south side of a rocky river valley and takes
about fifteen minutes to stroll; the waterway itself can be a roaring beast after the rains.
Part of the walk is lined by the Narabi-jizō, some fifty decaying stone statues of Jizō,
the Buddhist saint of travellers and children.
Yashio
͓͠ͷ౬
, Yashio no Yu • 1726-4 Kiyotakiwanoshiro-machi • Daily except Thurs 10am-9pm • ¥300 •
T
0288 53 6611
Nikkō's municipal onsen,
Yashio
, is set a little way west of the town, and offers
large communal baths and rotemburo (outdoor baths). It's quite possible to walk
here from central Nikkō, most pleasurably through the Ganman-ga-fuchi abyss
(see above).
Chūzenji-ko
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The tranquil lake of
Chūzenji-ko
lies some
10km west of Nikkō, and is most famed for
the dramatic
Kegon Falls
that flow from it. Local buses run east along Route 120 and
up the twisting, one-way road to reach
CHŪZENJI
, the lakeside resort. Both the lake and
waterfalls were created thousands of years ago, when nearby
Mount Nantai
(Nantai-san;
உମࢁ
; 2486m) erupted, its lava plugging the valley.
Kegon Falls
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, Kegon no Taki • Daily: Jan, Feb & Dec 9am-4.30pm; March, April & Nov 8am-5pm; May-Sept 7.30am-6pm; Oct
7.30am-5pm • ¥530 •
W
kegon.jp
The best view of the
Kegon Falls
can be had from the viewing platform at their base.
The lift to this vantage point lies east across the car park behind the Chūzenji bus
station; don't be put off by the queues of tour groups - a shorter line is reserved for
