Nikko, located in Tochigi Prefecture, is a highly sought-after tourist destination. Its popularity stems from the beautiful and ever-changing natural landscapes, as well as several historical sites such as the Nikko Tōshō-gū Shrine and Shinkyo Bridge. Visitors can also indulge in local specialties like yuba and purchase amazing souvenirs. To help you choose the best souvenirs, here is a list of five recommended souvenirs from Live Japan's foreign editors.

The four editors who will guide us through their top souvenir selections are Timothy from the United States, Cassandra from the United Kingdom, Park from South Korea, and Chia-chi from Taiwan.

You may notice their distinct preferences and recommendations due to national or cultural differences! Without further ado, let's hear what our editorial staff have to say about their personal experiences!

Yuba is one of Nikko's most recognizable souvenirs. Another region that is famous for its yuba is Kyoto, but the way the two souvenirs are written in Chinese characters is slightly different.

Yuba refers to a snack made from the top layer of skin that forms on the surface of heated soy milk. In Kyoto, this layer is pulled up from the edges and shaped like a leaf, whereas Nikko's yuba is pulled up from the middle and then layered to form wave-like creases, which is why Nikko's yuba is written with the character for "wave"!

Fujiya is a Nikko yuba specialty shop with a long history. They've accumulated a wide range of yuba-based products throughout these years. However, our top recommendation for international visitors is the "Yuba Kashi (740 yen, tax included)"!

Compared with other yuba products, the expiry date for this item is about ten days longer than usual, a subtle detail travelers are bound to appreciate.

This item comes highly recommended by Park, who remarks: "You'll want something like this if you need a souvenir that showcases local specialty products!"

The aromatic fragrance is what hits you first when you open the package. As people pick up a piece of the tidbit and put it into their mouths, curious expressions often quickly turn into one of pleasant surprise.

"It's so sweet for something that looks like a rice cracker!" is one of the most commonly heard comments about this snack. After all, the surface of the snack is seasoned not with salt, but sugar!

Timothy: "It's thin and as light as a piece of paper, with a soybean fragrance! From a Westerner point of view, this is a good item to consider when you feel like picking up a Japanese snack. These are neither potato chips nor rice crackers and will provide great satisfaction for something so light!"

Cassandra: "Westerners aren't used to the taste of rice crackers and tend to think they have a fishy taste, but this is kind of like between candy and rice crackers, so it'll be perfect for an introductory snack!"

Park and Chia-chi agree, adding, "They're crispy and great to eat while watching TV!" They just love the yuba's lovely soybean fragrance and how crunchy the snack feels in their mouth. This snack is also great with tea or as a treat for the kids!

Another recommended souvenir is the "Nikko Rusk", a snack that's wrapped in flamboyantly colorful packaging. It fully utilizes the snack-making technology of old-time traditional Japanese sweets shop, Ganso Nisshodo, and is an approved offering at Nikko Tōshō-gū shrine.

Boasting a total lifetime sales of more than one million pieces, this popular product is known for having a chocolatey taste that seems to have seeped into the bread itself. Flavors include strawberry chocolate, bitter chocolate, sugar, maple, matcha, and many others. You can buy them in sets that come with bags or boxes as well. The snacks can usually last about two months from the date of purchase.

On this occasion, we bought a "3-Piece Nikko Rusk (756 yen, tax included)" set that comes with sugar, maple, and matcha flavors - flavors that are apparently very popular among foreign tourists! Inside the package, the rusks have been packed separately according to flavor. Artwork of Japanese icons such as the three wise monkeys and sleeping cats are featured on the cover, and this uniquely Japanese design along with the ease of distribution it offers are major reasons why it's one of our top picks!

Timothy and Cassandra prefer the sugar flavor, Park is all about the matcha, and Chia-chi likes the maple flavor best of all, reflecting their individual preferences. On the whole, the moderate sweetness and pleasant aroma are well-received by all four editors.

Chia-chi comments, "This'll go well with milk! I can totally imagine having it for breakfast." Timothy also highly recommends the product, saying, "I don't think I've ever heard of anyone not liking or hating rusks. The simple flavor with a slight Japanese twist makes it an appropriate present for almost anyone you can think of!"

Ganso Nisshodo offers a snack called "Nikko Aoi Three Wise Monkeys Monaka" which costs 486 yen for a set of three.

This snack is designed after Nikko Tōshō-gū's famous three wise monkeys that stand for the maxim, "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"!

Each monkey in this snack hides either its eyes, mouth, or ears, conveying that impressionable young children shouldn't see, hear, or say anything bad.

The idea is to nurture children with only pure things to help them grow as honest and upright adults.

The message for adults is to avoid focusing only on the negative traits of others, not to pry unnecessarily, and not to speak ill of others.

Monaka is a snack that features a thin outer skin and a hearty amount of red bean paste filling. Some people dislike the way the thin skin sticks to the teeth, and others may not like red bean paste, so you'll often find wildly divisive opinions about this snack. However, our editors believe this snack is an appropriate souvenir to bring home because of its unique three wise monkeys design.

Also, the expiry date is often more than two months from the date of purchase, which is definitely a reassuring buy for those wanting to bring them overseas at the end of their trip!

Red bean isn't the only filling being used for this set of snacks. You'll also find that it comes with walnut & caramel cream flavor.

"It's so fragrant!" gushes Park. "The walnut filling has a great texture and the more you chew it, the better the aroma becomes! It's kind of interesting to bite into something different when you're expecting to taste red bean paste, too.

And who can say no to such cute monkeys? Personally, I'd be overjoyed to receive something like this as a souvenir!"

Cassandra adds, "The filling is just delicious! Even one piece is enough to satisfy me."

Looks like the generous fillings of walnut and rich caramel cream is a major selling point for this snack! Because each piece is generally good enough for one person, you can consider getting a few sets to distribute piecemeal among groups like workmates and such.

Another recommended souvenir from Nikko Castella Honpo is the "Castella Chef Creation - Tsubutsubu Strawberry Baumkuchen" going for 1,620 yen including tax.

Made with Tochigi wheat and Tochigi Kanuma's branded premium Sanrokuran eggs, the baumkuchens are made with a special focus on food safety, which is why every single layer of the pastry has been carefully hand-baked by experts of the craft!

Tochigi is well-known as a producer of strawberries. Its long best-before date of about 30 days after being shipped is a plus point as well. Definitely enough time for most travelers to return to their countries and start distributing souvenirs!

When you take the cake out from its box, the first thing you'll notice is the sweet and pleasant fragrance.

"The strawberry fragrance is so strong!" Tim exclaims. "Tochigi is a strawberry production area, right? I would love to introduce that fact to my friends who don't know about Japan."

Chia-chi is similarly enamored with the snack. "Taiwanese love Japanese strawberries, so this is definitely something I'd recommend to them!"

According to Cassandra, who is a big fan of baumkuchen, "Dryer snacks like rusk aren't very appealing to the English, because we tend to be more fond of moist cakes like baumkuchen. This will be my top recommendation for sure!"

The shop suggests heating up the baumkuchen in a microwave oven first before eating it with some vanilla ice-cream.

When told about this, our editorial staff nod in understanding and agree with the suggestion.

Show that you really care by letting your friends know about this excellent way to enjoy the pastry more when you present it to them!

If you're visiting the Nikko Tōshō-gū, you have to check out the Three Wise Monkeys Charm, a unique souvenir that's basically a charm based on the three wise monkeys.

There are a few different types available, but our recommendation is the Three Wise Monkeys Charm (Keychain) featured in the photograph.

Each keychain will set you back 300 yen including tax and are being sold on temple grounds, so consider it a souvenir worth acquiring during a shrine visit!

Even the chief priest of the temple highly recommends this popular item!

Regarding this Three Wise Monkeys charm that contains blessings for good health, Park says, "I often see them being featured on blogs and such. The Three Wise Monkeys are what comes to mind when people think of Nikko, so I'd recommend getting this as a souvenir."

Chia-chi adds, "The Three Wise Monkeys are quite recognizable in Taiwan as well, so this'll be a perfect souvenir to buy for friends back home!"

You can really tell why the keychain charm featuring the adorable Three Wise Monkeys is so popular among people everywhere!

We hope our editorial team's souvenir shopping recommendations have given you some ideas for your next trip to Nikko. Remember, there are plenty of other unique souvenirs available to discover, so make it an adventure and find the perfect item to suit your needs. Happy hunting!

*Article originally published in August 2019 and updated in October 2023.

English translation by: Huimin Pan.