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A trip around Tosho-gu is likely to leave you visually (if not physically exhausted) but it's worth pressing on to some of the other temples and shrines in the surrounding woods. At the end of the righthand path next to Tosho-gu's pagoda, the simple red colour scheme of the Futarasan-jinja comes as a relief to the senses. This shrine, originally established by the priest Shodo Shonin in 782, is the main one dedicated to the deity of Nantai-san, the volcano whose eruption created nearby Chuzenji-ko. The middle shrine is beside the lake and the innermost shrine stands on the top of the mountain. There are some good paintings of animals and birds on votive plaques in the shrine's main hall, while the attached garden (Y200) is a quiet retreat with a small teahouse serving matcha green tea and sweets for Y350. You can also inspect the bakemono toro , a "phantom lantern" made of bronze in 1292 and said to be possessed by demons. Just beyond Futarasan-jinja, and bypassed by the tourist melee is the charming Taiyuin-byo , which contains the mausoleum of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, who died in 1651. This complex - part of Rinno-ji and hidden away on a hillside, surrounded by lofty pines - was deliberately designed to be less ostentatious than Tosho-gu. Look out for the green god of wind and the red god of thunder in the alcoves behind the Niten-mon gate, and the beautiful Kara-mon (Chinese-style gate) and fence surrounding the gold and black lacquer inner precincts. If the relative peacefulness of Taiyuin-byo has left you wary of Nikko's ever-present tourist scrum, make for another nearby tranquil escape. From the temple area, head for the Nishi-sando main road (where the bus to and from Nikko's stations stops), cross over and continue down to the Daiya-gawa River - five minutes' walk west is the Ganman-bashi, a small bridge across from which begins the riverside pathway through the Ganman-ga-fuchi abyss . Part of this restful walk, along the attractive and rocky river valley, is lined by the Narabi-jizo , some fifty decaying stone statues of Jizo, the Buddhist saint of travellers and children.
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