Toshogu Shrine is arguably the most impressive and beautiful of all the temples and shrines on the heritage site of Nikko. It was built in 1617 during the Edo period, and it is the shrine where the first Tokugawa Shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined and buried. Adorned with gold leaf, beautiful wooden carvings, and brightly painted structures, its easy to see why this shrine complex is a national treasure and has World Heritage status.

Visitors can reach Nikko Toshogu Shrine by taking the Nikko sightseeing bus from Tobu Nikko station to Shinkyo Bridge. The bus ride will take approximately 5 minutes. From Shinkyo Bridge, you will enter the start of the Nikko Heritage Area and Toshogu Shrine will take approximately 10 minutes to reach.

The shrine complex is large, and visitors will be amazed at the scale of it when they walk around. As soon as you enter the complex, you are greeted with the amazing five story Pagoda to the left, and a beautifully decorated entrance gate. It has 55 structures in total, 42 of which have World Heritage status. 8 of the structures have the designation of national treasures which includes the Three Wise Monkeys, Sleeping Cat, and the Storehouse Elephants. The animal carvings are certainly one of the stars of the show here, so make sure to take your time to explore and look at all the intricate details.

The famous ‘Sleeping Cat’ is called ‘Nemuri Neko’ in Japanese. The cat, along with many of the other animal carvings here were made by a famous artist called Hidari Jingoro. He was famous for his love of animals, especially cats and produced very high quality works. Therefore he was contracted to design many important structures throughout the shrine complex and Japan.

As you walk around the shrine complex, you can enjoy seeing both Shinto and Buddhist motifs and structures. The complex was originally much smaller and more modest in its design, but it was enlarged and made more elaborate by Tokugawa Iemitsu, Tokugawa Ieyasu’s grandson. Iemitsu did this to show his love and respect for his Grandfather after his passing. Stately processions were made all the way from Tokyo to Nikko to visit the shrine and for people to pay their respects to Ieyasu after his death. These traditions are still reacted today during Nikko’s autumn and spring festivals which visitors can attend.  

Visitors can go inside the main worship halls at Toshogu to see even more beautiful treasures. Treasures include painted portraits of the Tokugawa Shogunate, statues of the Chinese Zodiac and more. If you’re feeling brave, you can climb over 200 steps to the top of the complex where you can visit Tokugawa Ieyasu’s Mausoleum and final resting place. The Shrine complex also lays adjacent to the Nikko Toshogu Museum , a great museum which has artefacts and personal belongings of Tokugawa Ieyasu on display. We highly recommend visiting both during your trip to Nikko. If you would like to do both the shrine complex and museum you can buy a combined ticket for both for 2,400 yen.

Want to experience the treasures of Nikko Toshogu Shrine for yourself?

Why not join our ’1 Day Tour : Explore Nikko’s World Heritage and National Park’ tour . Available throughout the year, this is the perfect tour to venture out of Tokyo. All tours are led by locally-based guides and will take you around the must-see sights in the region, as well as some lesser known gems. Our tours are fun, interactive and family-friendly. For more information, or to book a tour, click on the banner.

1 Day Tour

1 Day Tour : Explore Nikko’s World Heritage and National Park
Period	April – October
Time	08:40 – 19:15
Meeting Place	Outside Asakusa Ekimise Department Store
Adult Rate	¥24,900
Child Rate	¥18,900