Nikko Toshogu Shrine, including Nikko-zan Rinnoji Temple and Nikko Futaarasan Shrine, was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1999. In this plan, you will receive a special prayer service only for guests at the prayer hall, and receive a souvenir and the kai’s original Goshuin (red seal) to energize you for tomorrow.

“Naorai” is an event to receive the sake and the offering to the gods after a Shinto ritual, and it is also a ceremony to return to the normal way of life.
In this plan, as part of the “Naorai” ceremony after praying at Nikko Toshogu Shrine, we will offer the “Naorai Sweets,” an original sweet created in collaboration with Nisshodo, a Japanese confectionery store that serves the Nikko Toshogu Shrine. Visitors can spend a moment after prayers in a private space that is currently not open to the general public.

(1)Creation of purification goods

During your stay at each facility, you can create your own original purification goods. Goods with scents and patterns that are believed to ward off evil spirits are made, and the body and mind are purified in preparation for the next day’s prayers.

＜Kai Kawaji＞
At “Kai Kawaji,” a hot-spring inn in a satoyama (a village) located along a mountain stream, visitors can experience sachet making using Karasuyama washi, a traditional Tochigi Prefecture craft.

＜Kai Kinugawa＞
At “Kai Kinugawa,” a hot spring hotel with sunlight filtering through the trees where modern Tochigi folk art comes alive, visitors can make art panels using the traditional Tochigi Prefecture craft “Kurobane Aizome.

＜Kai Nikko＞
At “Kai Nikko,” a hot spring resort located on the shore of Lake Chuzenji, visitors can create accessories using Kanuma-kumiko, a traditional craft of Tochigi Prefecture.

(2)Purification before prayer

In the private baths at each facility, you can purify your body before praying in a kakeburo, which is a bath filled with sake. While staying at the onsen ryokan, you can prepare your body and mind for the prayers.

＜Kai Kawaji＞
Bathe in the guest room open-air bath lit by the light of Karasuyama Japanese paper.

＜Kai Kinugawa＞
Bathing in the guest room open-air bath overlooking the forest

＜Kai Nikko＞
Bathing in a private open-air bath made of Japanese cypress with a sense of openness

＞Kai Kawaji (Kawaji Onsen, Tochigi Prefecture)
＞Kai Kinugawa (Kinugawa Onsen, Tochigi Prefecture)
＞Kai Nikko (Chuzenji Onsen, Tochigi Prefecture)