Walking vacations in Nikko & Yumoto Onsen

This stunning mountainous landscape offers hiking trails past small villages, lakes, waterfalls and hot springs, through forests and by the side of gently flowing rivers. On the Oku Nikko plains sightings of deer and monkeys are common, as are views of Mount Mitsudake and Mount Orogura, while waterfalls such as Ryuzu and Yudaki are nationally famous. Nikko is considered one of the most beautiful parks in the country, and for walkers it offers an opportunity to explore historic, rural Japan and to be immersed in the traditional culture here as well as meeting local people, a world apart from what you’re going to get on a regular sightseeing tour.

The five-storey pagoda by the main gate, and the intricate Yomeimon Gate, are two of the most handsome structures in the Toshogu Shrine complex. There is also a museum, where you can see the shogun’s personal effects including swords, armour and personal letters, and a sombre mausoleum. Tokugawa, the ‘Great Deity of the East Shining Light’, is celebrated as a strategic mastermind, no doubt a factor in the length and stability of his dynasty. While here you might also visit the Futuarasan-jinja and Rinnōji shrines which make up the rest of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The vermillion Sacred Bridge across the Daiya River is reckoned among the most beautiful in all Japan.

Other points of interest in the area for walkers include the Oze Marshlands in a lava-formed valley, surrounded by the Nikko Mountains and thronged with alpine flora and wild birds; the Kegon Falls, at 97m one of the highest waterfalls in Japan, and Lake Chuzenji, which is a popular summer resort for its hot springs and magnificent seasonal foliage, and was created by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago.