Nikkō, Tochigi

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This article is about Nikkō the city; see Nikkō (priest) for the founder of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism.

**Shrines and Temples of Nikko**¹
**UNESCO World Heritage Site**

State Party	Japan
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, iv, vi
Identification	#913
Region²	Asia-Pacific
Inscription History
Formal Inscription:	1999 23rd WH Committee Session
WH link:	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/913
1 Name as officially inscribed on the WH List 2 As classified officially by UNESCO

Nikkō (日光市, Nikkō-shi^?, literally sunlight) is a city located in the mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Located about 140 km to the north of Tokyo, it is a popular destination for Japanese and international tourists, housing the mausoleum of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (Nikkō Tōshō-gū) and that of his grandson Iemitsu, as well as the Futarasan Shrine, which dates to the year 767. There are also many famous hot springs (onsen) in the area. The mountains west of the city are part of Nikkō National Park and contain some of the country's most spectacular waterfalls and scenic trails.

As of the May 1, 2006, the city has an estimated population of 93,568. The total area is 1,449.87 km².

1 Significance
2 Sports
3 Photo gallery
4 The former city of Nikkō Data
5 External links

[edit] Significance

Nikkō Tōshō-gū, Futarasan Jinja, and Rinnoji form a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Lake Chuzenji and the Kegon Falls lie in Nikkō.

On March 20, 2006, the old city of Nikkō merged with the city of Imaichi and the municipalities of Ashio, Fujihara, and Kuriyama to create the new city of Nikkō. Their new city hall is now located at the former Imaichi City Hall.

The city has the third largest area in Japan, only behind Takayama (largest) and Hamamatsu (2nd largest).

Masaru Ibuka, co-founder of Sony Corporation, was born in Nikkō.

[edit] Sports

Nikkō is main home city for the Nikkō Kobe IceBucks in the Asia League Ice Hockey. In the Nikkō Arena the Women's Ice Hockey World Championships (Division I) 2007 take place in April 2007.

[edit] Photo gallery

The lavishly decorated Yomeimon Gate of Toshogu Shrine	Carving of the god of thunder in the Nitenmon Gate of Taiyuin-byo Shrine	The famous 17th century carving of the Three wise monkeys at the Nikkō Toshogu shrine.	Statues of Jizo in Nikkō
Kegon Falls in Nikkō	Lake Chūzenji in Nikkō	Rinnoji, a temple in Nikkō	Futarasan Jinja, a Shinto shrine in Nikkō
Waterfall in Nikkō	Ornamental Bell tower at Toshogu Nikkō	Shinkyo Bridge in Nikkō	Torii at a shrine

[edit] The former city of Nikkō Data

Since the post-merger city of Nikkō's (new city of Nikkō) area is too big to calculate, there are some data from the pre-merger city of Nikkō (former city).

Also, since the new city of Nikkō was created by combining with 5 municipalities, the old city of Nikkō was officially dissolved. As a result, the old Nikkō and the new Nikkō are officially different.

However, the former Nikkō City Hall (now known as Nikkō City Hall-Nikkō Satellite Office) is located near Nikkō Toshogu and Nikkō Station. Former city of Nikkō was once part of Kamitsuga District.

This page will be covering both the old city of Nikkō and the new city of Nikkō.