Nikko not only hosts the spectacular World Heritage shrine where you can see the original see-no-evil-hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil monkeys, it’s home to two only-in-Japan theme parks. One invites you to wander around an authentically recreated samurai village dressed as the period character of your choice, watch courtesan parades and solve a ninja maze. The other is an astonishing park filled with models of famous world monuments, all landscaped with living bonsai trees grown perfectly to scale. And it’s all just an easy weekend trip from Tokyo!
Attraction #1: The Nikkō Toshōgu Shrine
There’s no greater “power spot” in all of Japan than the Nikko Toshougu Shrine, which combines the good luck abode of a dragon, the tomb of the mightiest shōgun of all time, and the World Heritage Site seal of approval.
This shrine delivers pristine gold-and-red goodness at the highest level.
It boasts a gorgeous five-story pagoda, with mossy lanterns galore
You can see the original hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil, see-no-evil monkeys
and hunt down a few lovely easter eggs, like the furry elephants with claws (carved by someone who obviously had never seen a real elephant)…
…and the famously elusive sleeping cat.
It’s also where the mightiest shōgun of all—Ieyasu Tokagawa—is buried. His solemn tomb is as grand and awe-inspiring as you might expect.
Attraction #2: Nikkō Edomura (Edo Wonderland)
If I were you, I’d set aside a day to immerse yourself in samurai life at Edomura, an entire town built to look like it would have during the three hundred years when the samurai ruled Japan.
Staff members dress in period clothing
And you can too! There’s a place right near the entrance where you can rent the costume of your choice and walk around in it for the day to make your visit even more immersive (and Instagrammable)! If you’ve ever longed to be a samurai lord, a ninja assassin, or the world’s most desirable geisha, now’s your chance.
They have tons of costumes to choose from, but here’s a small sample of roles for men, women and children:
Costumed or not, every building houses something interesting, and many showcase how traditional Japanese crafts were made and used, with staff members giving demonstrations.
In addition to the jail and other rarely-documented Edo town life spots, there’s a life-sized ninja maze you can easily get lost in (it’s harder than you might think!) and a highly entertaining “ninja trick house” where the angles are so deceiving…
it’s genuinely hard to walk through it while keeping your balance
There are also two theaters, one for live performances, one showing a constant stream of shorts about geisha, oiran, ninjas and Edo Period life. All the movies and stage shows are included in the price of admission…
and it’s the one place in all of Japan where you can watch a real oiran parade, like the ones in The Samurai’s Octopus!
Attraction #3: Tōbu World Square
Nikko is also home to the fabulous theme park that’s entirely landscaped in bonsai trees, where you can visit over a hundred miniature world monuments in a day.
The models at this place are so amazing that if you do an online image search with a photo of one, it’ll deliver pictures of the real landmark.
Endless entertainment is provided by the 1:25 scale figures populating the famous scenes (easter eggs galore, if you look closely!)
And the quirky moments in time the model-makers chose to illustrate
But the most amazing fact is that the landscaping around the 1:25 scale models is alive, and perfectly trained to match the buildings. How they cultivate so many bonsai on such a grand scale is one of the great mysteries of Japan.
(More amusing easter eggs and photos of this incredible place are here.)
All of this entertainment is within a short train ride from central Nikko, which is a charming town filled with restaurants, inns and hotels at every price range, framed by a bridge that’s a destination photo in itself.
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Jonelle Patrick writes about Japan 