About two and a half hours north of Tokyo, Nikko is home to a large UNESCO World Heritage area, with a series of shrines that dot the local mountains. While one can make a day trip out of this town, to truly enjoy it, one should plan to spend a couple of nights here, while renting a car to drive around.
During my visit there, we had a bit of bad weather on the day when we planned the road trip. It was early spring, and winter continued to hold on. We did get to ascend through a scenic mountain road with multiple hair-pin bends, and got to visit Lake Chuzenji whose shores were still icy. A clear sky would have been nice, and a visit back here during another season is something that I look forward to.