Nikko

Through this door were stairs that led to the shrine's founder's tomb.  Ready for a hike?  Let's go!

So here you can see two staircases: on the left was our first battle, then at the top, we turned to the left and found the staircase on the right.  Can you see it reaching up even farther?  It was quite a climb!  But it was so beautiful!

This was the last leg... I was lucky to get a moment were there we no people climbing or decending to snap this shot. (: At the top, we found a small gift shop, and these two things, in the photo below.  The paper knots are fortunes you can buy.  If you tie them here, the good fortunes will come true. (:  The wooden things are also wishes; people write on these pieces of wood and hang them here at a shrine.

We also found Toshogu's tomb, below, which is quite simple, compared with the grandness of the whole shrine.  There were several pieces of really gorgeous ironwork up here.

Like the monkeys, another famous Nikko symbol is the 'nemuri neko' or 'sleeping cat' carving.  She sits atop a door frame, which leads to the door that takes you to the stairs to the tomb.  She was so tiny, we missed her on our way up!

Can you see her, sitting at the top of the door?  Now you can see why she was so easy to miss! (:

This was the last shot I took as we left the Toshogu Shrine area.  The snow had stopped, but it was still cold enough for it to not melt.  What a beautiful day!

To the next page: Our day in TOKYO!

We headed back to Tokyo and had dinner here.  Mayu showed me this place, so mom and Robin got to try okonomiyaki, an old Japanese favorite!  It was really good. (: