I’m an admirer of the japanese culture, and as most friends know, made a 22-day trip couple of years ago along with not less than 7 relatives! xD
A trip which made me decide to move to Japan at some point in my lifetime.

Been planning on doing this in a while now, but finally I gathered the courage to select and share some of the photos taken on my trip, by 3 amateur photographers: Me, my cousin and my uncle!

I actually did share some of those in a previous (now deceased) blog, so nevermind the superimposed watermarks in some of those pics… it’s a long story, but unfortunately I lost all original pics (over 2000) that where taken with my camera…

Fortunately, my cousin and my uncle took way better pics than me, so I guess I’m not missing much.
Nevermind the drama, let’s go back to the pics.

Nikko is a city north of Tokyo, less than 1hr trip, famous for the temple complex and nearby hot springs (onsen).

Inside the temple complex, after climbing a long roll of stairways, you’ll reach the mausoleum of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, first shogun from the Tokugawa era.

On popular culture, the Nikko Temples hold this engraving which you probably already heard of. The Three Wise Monkeys from the proverb “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”.

What really impresses on these temples is the attention to details, engravings, and how well they were preserved. If you’re going there, pay close attention to it. My cousin did a really good job taking these close-up pics.

Another less internationally known symbol of the temples (but very popular in Japan) is the Nemuri Neko (sleeping cat) which simbolizes peace and healing, appropriately placed at the beginning of the stairs mentioned earlier.

Golden details, use of strong colors and overall appearance reminds me of chinese temples and style. Truly an unique view.
It was one of the first tourist attractions we visited… a very popular one among local and international tourists.

Closing up, here’s a picture of us (my cousing and his friend were left out… someone had to take the pic).
Me is the one giving you the hand!
I was kinda surprized by how cold it was up there, more clothing were needed.
Hope you liked this selection, because there’s more to come! xD

(elaborate on the comments!)