(A few of) Nikko's temples and shrines

"Nikko (日光) is a town most famous for Toshogu, Japan's most lavishly decorated shrine and the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Nikko had been a center of Shinto and Buddhist mountain worship for many centuries before Toshogu was built in the 1600s, and Nikko National Park continues to offer scenic, mountainous landscapes, lakes, waterfalls, hot springs." (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3800.html)

After a lovely breakfast buffet of Eastern and Western breakfast foods, we headed out to get bus tickets and begin our day. Of course, this meant taking 73569353 photos in front of this:

We took the bus over to Toshogu, where Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined. He was the first shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Our first stop was Rinnoji Temple. The main hall is undergoing renovation so we wandered through the construction site and were able to view the large statues of Amida and Senju Kannon (Bato Kannon was being restored).

Purifying with incense.

We were able to climb up and see the restoration work on the building.

And the views of Nikko were pretty nice.

 Behind the building there was a relaxing garden.

Our next stop was the Five Storied Pagoda. It was originally built to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the death of Ieyasu, who died in 1616. The pagoda is 36m high and the outside has carvings of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Five Storied Pagoda 

Brilliant colors

Zodiac symbols