The City Of Nikko

Nikko, which means sunlight or sunshine in English, is a city in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The city is approximately 140 km north of Tokyo. Nikko is the capital of Tochigi Prefecture it is a popular destination for Japanese and international tourists. Attractions include the mausoleum of shogun Tokugawa Leyasu and that of his grandson Lemitsu, and the Futarasan Shrine, which dates to the year 767. There are also many famous hot springs in the area. The area is also know for the carved Toshogu Shrine. The see no evil monkey carving are located in the shrine. 

Tokyo Imperial Palace

Tokyo Imperial Palace is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park like area located in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo close to Tokyo Station. This area also includes private residences of the imperial family, an archive, museum and administrative offices. It is built on the site of the old Edo castle. The total area including the gardens is 3.41 square kilometers. During the height of the 1980’s Japanese property bubble the palace grounds were valued by some as more than the value of all the real estate in the state of California.

Temples and Shrines

The most popular Temples and Shrines located in Tokyo. 

Kanda Myojin Shrine

A historical place known as a shrine of happiness for family affairs, match-making for couples and success in business. This shrine is also famous for Kanda Matsuri, one of the 3 largest Shrine festivals in Japan.

Meiji Jingu Shrine

A shirine established in the 9th Taisho Period (1920). It enshrines the Meiji Emperor and the Shoken Empress Dowager. A very popular shrine during the New Years celebrations of

Hatsumoude

The first shrine to visit when praying for happiness at the beginning of a new year. This shrine has the largest number of visitors.

Yasukuni Jinja Shrine

This shrine was built for the memorial and reverence of people who died by war.

Tokyo Japan

Tokyo is the capital of Japan and is the largest metropolitan area of the world.  Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. Tokyo was originally known as Edo, meaning “estuary”. Its name was changed to Tokyo when it became the imperial capital in 1868. 36% of Tokyo’s total land area is designated as Natural Parks. An estimated 12.79 million people live in Tokyo but during the day another 2 million people enter the city from near by areas for work.

Japan

A few facts to introduce the country of Japan.

1.)  More than 70% of Japan consists of mountains, including more than 200 volcanoes.

2.) There are around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan.

3.) Japan is the largest automobile producer in the world.

4.) Geisha means 'person of the arts' and the first geisha were actually men.

5.) It was customary in ancient japan for women to blacken their teeth with dye as white teeth were consider ugly.

6.) For many Japanese couples Christmas is celebrated like Valentine's Day in the western world.

7.) Coffee is very popular and Japan imports approximately 85% of Jamaica's annual coffee production.

8.) There are four different writing systems in Japan. Romaji, Katakana, Hiragana, and Kanji.

9.) Japans literacy rate is almost 100%.