Photo: Uraomote yamaneko, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
One of Japan's top 3 waterfalls, Kegon Falls features a 97-meter drop. A viewpoint offers spectacular photo opportunities. In the winter, the falls freeze, offering a unique scene.
Kegon Falls is located at Lake Chūzenji in Nikkō National Park near the city of Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The falls were formed when the Daiya River was rerouted by lava flows. The main falls had a height of approximately 97 metres (318 ft) and about twelve smaller waterfalls are situated behind and to the sides of Kegon Falls, leaking through the many cracks between the mountain and the lava flows.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
憾満ヶ淵
A long series of jizo protector statues on the side of a hill, some adorned with hats and bibs, some crumbling with age, with a river, small waterfalls and rapids below. Legend says that the statues change places from time to time, and a visitor will never see them in the same order twice. It can be tricky to find - at Shinkyō, instead of heading up the steps to the temple area, follow the road around to the west (to the left, if you crossed over the bridge) and walk roughly half an hour following the river - look for signs along the way. You will be walking through a residential area. If you pass the Turtle Inn, you are heading in the correct direction.
日光田母沢御用邸記念公園
Built for the Emperor Taisho in 1899, the former imperial villa also served as a hide-out for Hirohito during World War II.
大猷院廟
Iemitsu, the 3rd Tokugawa Shogun and grandson of Ieyasu, is buried here. Smaller, although much more beautiful than Tōshōgū. The main hall and mausoleum can only be viewed from outside. Unlike Tōshōgū, the tomb is not accessible to the public.
滝尾神社 Takino-o-jinja
This often overlooked mountain shrine is situated slightly up the mountain behind Toshogu and provides a welcome relief from the more crowded areas of Sannai. It takes its name from the picturesque waterfall that greets you at the base of the entrance. You can get there by walking for about 15-20 minutes along an ancient and atmospheric stone path that begins behind the Toshogu Shamusho (office). This path also features several other notable sites such as the Kyosha-do Hall (Japanese Chess pieces are left here as offerings for hopes of a safe birth), the worship hall Kaisan-do and the gravesite of Shodo-Shonin (the latter two are maintained by Rinnoji Temple).
Has plenty of the local flora and gardens that were said to be favorites of the Emperor Taisho. It's now an adjunct to Tokyo University.
東照宮
The official mausoleum of dynasty founder Tokugawa Ieyasu and the most extravagant temple in Nikko, constructed in 1634 on the order of his grandson Iemitsu, though not his actual resting place. The shrine took 2 years to complete with the efforts of 15,000 workers. Although the surrounding shrine is very ornate, the tomb itself is surprisingly simple and unassuming. While it had been believed that Tokugawa Ieyasu's body was moved here from Kunōzan Tōshō-gū in Shizuoka following its completion, 21st-century research has revealed that his body was never moved here and remains in Shizuoka.