Shizuoka Nihondaira & Toshogu Shrine

Nihondaira in the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture is a place where you can see Mt. Fuji and Suruga Bay from afar on a clear day, and enjoy the wide open landscape. Unfortunately, the weather was not good this morning. It rained most of the time. When we arrived at "Nihondaira", the rain was even heavier. We had to sit in the car and wait for the sky to clear up. When the rain turned into a drizzle, we first went to visit "Kunoh Toshogu Shrine" located on the hillside of Kunohsan. We had to take a 1,065-meter-long ropeway from the top of "Nihondaira" to reach "Toshogu Shrine". This is the temple built by the son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, a general of the Japanese Warring States Period, after leaving his will. There is also a museum outside the temple, which houses the treasures of the Tokugawa shogunate and the battle uniforms of successive generals. After visiting the museum, we climbed up the stone steps. The Toshogu Shrine was originally the burial place of Tokugawa Ieyasu (later moved to the Nikko Toshogu Shrine), and his beloved horse was also buried there. Because the temple has been well preserved for 400 years and is almost the same as it was in the early days, and its architectural design has also influenced similar architectural models in the future, it has been listed as a national treasure of Japan. You can also see "Suruga Bay" here. After leaving Toshogu Shrine, we took the ropeway back to Nihondaira. The rain had stopped, but there were still thick clouds, so we couldn't see Mount Fuji from afar. Although we really couldn't see the shy Mount Fuji, we could see the entire Shizuoka City 360 degrees from here, and our eyes suddenly opened up. #Nihondaira #Kunohtoshogu Shrine