Today we were leaving Nikko and finally heading to Tokyo Disney Resort! But first we would do some NOT kid-centric things and visit some of the famous sites around Nikko. 
But of course, breakfast first.
Big pot…
…full of this:
DH certainly tried to finish the whole pot, but I don’t think he was successful. Kids’ meal (cute plate!):
We left our luggage with the ryokan and went to get CASH! Luckily, the Nikko Kanaya Hotel is very close to Shinko Bridge, which we were going to go see anyways. It was a short walk from the ryokan.
We then went to Toshogu Shrine. It was a bit of a trek. Admission was 1300 yen/adult, I think DS (school age) was 50% of adult price, and DD was free (cash only).
Detail:
I didn’t make a point to find the famous see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkey carving. There was a tour group blocking one of them, I assumed that was the one and didn’t feel like waiting. Here’s a random one:
The sleeping cat is another famous carving.
I didn’t realize this was the beginning of the path to Ieyasu’s Tomb until I checked the map at the top of the stairs. DD started complaining about the walk about halfway along the walkway after the first stairs and there was more stairs coming up, so I decided to head back with the kids and DH would go take pictures. But then DS heard “tomb” and then suddenly he wanted to go. Hmm…not quite sure what he was expecting to see, but he saw this:
The kids weren’t interested at all and some areas were pretty crowded (not surprising for a Saturday), so we didn’t stay long. We then found the shortcut stairs down the hill that would put us very close to the ryokan. We wandered into a family run place for lunch because one of the owners (sweet elderly lady) kept telling us it was “oishii” (delicious). 
She gave the kids some cookies stamped with the see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil monkeys. They were yummy, so we bought some too.
Top left corner is yuba (tofu skin), which is a Nikko specialty. It was very oishii. Top right is yuba sashimi (raw tofu skin). I had no idea something vegetarian could be called sashimi. It was good (a little slimy), but I preferred the cooked yuba. We also got a tempura donburi (rice bowl) for the kids. It was cash only, so I don’t remember what the total was, but it was inexpensive.
Travels with 2 Kids 