Nikko is where Tokugawa Ieyasu was laid to rest, and the town lives with the weight of that. Ieyasu, who founded the shogunate that ruled Japan for two and a half centuries, died in 1616 and was enshrined here in the mountains north of Tokyo, and the Toshogu shrine, completed a year later and enlarged by his grandson, is a riot of gold leaf, carving and colour, quite unlike the restraint most people associate with Japanese temples. The famous carving of the three monkeys, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, is here.
The setting matters as much as the buildings. Huge cedars, planted over decades as a gift by a loyal lord, line the approaches, and the mist often clings among them. The town sits at the foot of the mountains of Nikko National Park, and above it rise volcanic peaks, a high lake and waterfalls. Autumn colour is spectacular, usually in mid to late October, and brings crowds.
For a rider, the climb is the event. The Irohazaka road, with its forty-eight hairpins named after the letters of the old Japanese alphabet, climbs the steep slope toward Lake Chuzenji in two one-way sections, one for each direction. The curves are tight and the surface is good, but the road is busy in autumn and misty in the mornings. At the top, the lake and the Kegon Falls drop in a single plume of nearly a hundred metres, and beyond lies the Senjogahara marsh, an open plain of grass and birch beside a ridge of volcanic hills.
Nikko itself is a small town with fuel, restaurants and plenty of hotels. A local speciality is yuba, thin sheets of tofu skin, served in various forms. Summer is cool by Tokyo standards, which is why imperial families built holiday villas here. Snow can close the high road from late autumn, so check ahead if you ride in November. Arrive early or late to avoid the tour buses, and give the temple a proper morning.