human gray statue

Nikkō is a UNESCO World Heritage site with three large temple and shrine complexes set in a beautiful cedar forest. It is an amazing place, but also amazingly popular replete with packed tourist trains and buses. Having all day to wander I quickly covered the main sites. A bridge on my map at the far side of town called to me for reasons I can’t explain. Upon arriving there I was alone with the river loudly rushing through a gorge. I followed a footpath beside the river and found this simple yet beautiful Buddhist shrine sitting quietly in the forest alongside it.