Cryptomeria Avenue

More than 12,000 Japanese cedar trees line three old pilgrimage roads approaching Nikko's shrines and temples, planted over two decades starting in 1625 by Matsudaira Masatsuna, a senior Tokugawa retainer. At 35 kilometers combined, this is the world's longest tree-lined avenue. The Shinkyo sacred bridge nearby, first built in 1636, was restricted to religious processions and shogunate officials for centuries. A legend says the monk Shodo Shonin crossed the Daiya River here in 766 using two snakes sent by a Buddhist guardian deity as a bridge. The current bridge dates to 1904, rebuilt after the Ashio Typhoon, and has been open to the public since 1973.