Tochigi (栃木)

Tochigi（栃木）
Tochigi is one of the prefectures in the northern Kanto area, which has beautiful mountains, plains and rivers. The land in Tochigi is suited for the agriculture such as rice, vegetables and strawberries. Nikko, Kinugawa, Nasu and Shiobara areas are famous for hot springs and summer resorts.

Nikko Tosho-gu（日光東照宮）
Tokugawa Ieyasu徳川家康 (1542-1616), the founder of Tokugawa shogunate government in 1603, is worshiped at the Nikko Tosho-gu in 1617.

This gate is called Yomei-mon陽明門 and designated as a national treasure. There are more than 500 carvings and sculptures on the gate. The grave of Ieyasu is located at the Okumiya奥宮, an inner sanctuary.

Very nice Japanese lunch at a visitor’s centre in Nikko


Kegon no Taki/ Kegon Waterfall（華厳の滝）
The Kegon waterfall is about 97m high and is one of the three greatest waterfalls of Japan. The picture is not enough to tell how beautiful the waterfall is. The sound of water is very loud.

Chuzenji-ko（中禅寺湖）
Chuzenji-ko is the highest located non-artificial lake in Japan, at 1269m above sea level. A monk found the lake in 782. Until 1872, woman, cows and horses were not allowed to climb to the lake because of religious reasons. After lifting of the ban, more people started to visit here. Many foreign diplomats visited to pass the summer since the Meiji Era (1868-1912).

Nantai-zan（男体山）
This mountain is located next to the Chuzen lake.