Our World

The March earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan left great devastation in an area that we did not intend to visit. However underlining this event was the damage suffered by some of Japan’s nuclear reactors. Ninety miles to the north of Tokyo in a beautiful mountainous region is the town of Nikko which has a dazzling collection of temples and shrines situated in an alpine forest. In planning our trip we definitely wanted to include a visit to this town after we left Tokyo and had booked a room in a small hotel near the train station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Several weeks prior to our departure we got a message from the hotel assuring us that even though Nikko was only sixty miles to the west of the nuclear plant meltdowns that the mountain range would offer ample protection. So we decided that three days in the area would not offer us too much risk, particularly since much of northern Japan, including Tokyo were under constant threat from this radiation.

The trip to the mountains only took a couple of hours but it delivered us into an area that contrasted as dramatically as possible with Tokyo. Nikko could be easily mistaken for a small town in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado. Possibly though you might have thought of it as a ghost town as most everything in the town was closed and it was eerily apparent that those residents who could had abandoned the town in fear of the nuclear threat. In the three days we were in the area we saw only a handful of visitors and virtually no Japanese outside a small number of locals manning the few businesses that were open. Alone in our hotel, the manager provided us with his cell phone number in case we had a problem. On the bright side our wanderings in the mountains, along the rivers and through the temples were blissfully solitary which is something we had never expected in Japan.

Nikko is an unique historical site that contains a great number of temples and shrines that were built in the 17th century and spared WWII destruction due to its isolation. There is another feature that sets this area apart from what you encounter in the rest of Japan. Throughout Japan the temples and shrines were designed with the artistic and religious intent of simplicity. Elsewhere we were to be greatly impressed by the stunning impression made by this simplicity. Nikko however is the product of period of Japanese development that sought to incorporate Chinese esthetics into the design and decoration of the Imperial buildings. There is a flamboyancy of decoration and color found here that makes it a very different experience. In general a comparison would favor the later simplicity of design as the attempt to copy Chinese style is not as creative in itself. However the physical environment of Nikko, unlike anywhere to be found in China, provides a totally fresh and stimulating view of Imperial Chinese design.

Wandering along the alpine river we marveled at the rich contrast of colors found in the rocks, vegetation and water. Along the river were stone statues of monks
adorned with vivid red hats and vests that local legend insists are haunted. High above the sparkling river was a cemetery where many monks are buried . Here amongst the trees and flowering plants the sunlight dabbles stone markers and inscribed wooden staves to produce an truly ethereal setting. The area might not be haunted but it does have the feel of another world unto itself.

The temples and shrines of Nikko are built amongst the forest that covers the steep hills and does require some effort to visit. Emperors of Japan were buried in this area for several hundred years so it is not surprising that the buildings are so impressive. Hidden away on the façade of one of the temple buildings can be found one of the world’s most famous iconic images. Here three monkeys were first carved into the wood to illustrate the Buddhist wisdom of “hear/see/speak no evil”. Like a magnet each visitor is drawn to this small tableau so that they can forge forever a real connection with this saying. After escaping the lure of the monkeys you are treated to a spectacle of color and design even further enhanced by the sparkling gold of sunlight filtering through the evergreens.

In retrospect there we found many wonderful and exciting sites in Japan but Nikko, as we were able to experience it, was indeed the most wonderful of them all.

June 27, 2011