Nara, Japan

Another day, another set of adventures. It seems most of our posts start this way.

This morning we ventured out to find breakfast all by ourselves. It wasn't that big of a feat as we only walked two doors down from our hotel, but it still felt like an accomplishment. We each picked up a danish, and were pleased to find out the bakery was running a special: 3 items for 380 YEN. Figuring roughly 100 YEN to the dollar (it is actually closer to 94, but we've been rounding to make life easier), and figuring they were each 160 YEN alone, it is a nice deal.

Masumi and Hiroko guided us through the train station. We are so in trouble when we get to Tokyo and are on our own as Masumi starts her new job. Fortunately last week (yes, it was only a week ago), I purchased a two-day subway ticket for Tokyo so we'll be able to hop on and off and back again as much as we want without having to keep struggling with the ticket machines. Luckily most of the machines have had an English option that translates it all like magic. Unfortunately for me, each machine seems different. Some are more modern than others. Unlike NYC where each subway ride is the same cost no matter where you are going, here each ticket price varies based on where you are going. Kids are a different price from adults. Some want the money up front, then chose what you need, then it spits out change. Sometimes we have to do 2 adults as one transaction and 1 child as a separate transaction. If I had to, I would get the hang of it, but I'm glad to have Hiroko and Masumi nearby guiding me through the process.

We took an hour-long train ride from Osaka to Nara. Founded in 710, this is one of the oldest cities in Japan. Its claim to fame is that it is the eastern destination of the Silk Road and is (according to DK Eyewitness Travel) the diocese of Buddhism (I had no idea Buddhism was divided into dioceses).

Unfortunately the golden dragon is in a box and we could only see the box. 
Inside the shrine is a room of metal lanterns that is only open seasonally. We were lucky to hit the right season. It is here that we saw a bride and groom taking wedding pictures. With the help of our friends, we wished them luck in Japanese.Instead of a tower, though, this path led to the Todai-ji Temple, which contains the world's largest bronze image of the Buddha. How big is this statue? It is so big, that when it is dusted, four or five monks can fit in the palm of his hand. 
His nose is large enough for people to crawl through (they have a hold cut out of a log for people to try. Everyone else made it but me  
and will have good luck. I got claustrophobic just sticking my arms in that I was terrified of getting stuck and becoming entertainment for the tourists. Also in the building are giant statues of Buddha's four students. Ashley liked one of them because he held a paintbrush. The Great Buddha Hall was destroyed over the years. His nose is large enough for people to crawl through (they have a hold cut out of a log for people to try. Everyone else made it but me  
and will have good luck. I got claustrophobic just sticking my arms in that I was terrified of getting stuck and becoming entertainment for the tourists. Also in the building are giant statues of Buddha's four students. Ashley liked one of them because he held a paintbrush. The Great Buddha Hall was destroyed over the years. A Japanese woman about 10-15 years older than me made room for me to sit next to her near the back of the bus while Don, Hiroko and Masumi were standing in the front of the bus. While I tried to keep an eye on them, this woman asked me about our trip to Japan. Mind you, she didn't speak a lot of English, but it was still at least 200 words more than the 4 I can say. She was charming.

Most of our destinations in Nara took place in Nara Park (1,300 acre park filled with temples). Ashley will forever remember this place as where the deer come up to you to be fed. They sell deer food to encourage tourists feeding the deer. We did not buy any of it. Heck, we barely managed to buy ourselves food while in Nara!

We strolled up Sanjo-Dori (road), which is filled with souvenir shops and touristy restaurants. As we are just strolling along we stumbled upon Kofuku-ji Temple. Though the original structure dated back to 669, the

fifth and current structure "only" dates back to 1426. It is the second tallest five story pagoda in Japan. With any luck, tomorrow we will see the tallest one, which is located in Kyoto. It was by here where Ashley first encountered the deer.

We continued our stroll up to Nara Park. We headed to the left and saw the Kasuga Grand Shrine. Ashley was excited to hear they had a Golden Dragon shrine (as she was missing Sandy). 

The Kasuga Grand Shrine is surrounded by 3,000 stone lanterns that are lit for a few days twice a year (February and August). I bet the sight is stunning. 

Masumi and Hiroko went to a local shop for lunch. It just did not look Ashley-friendly, so we bravely said we would move onto the next site and find something else to eat. Even with a map in English, we got hopelessly lost! Running out of time before meeting up with them, we decided on ice cream for lunch. This is not the first time in our lives we've ended up with ice cream in lieu of a meal. I think that was when we were on the Big Island in Hawaii and just could not find anything to eat and we stumbled upon a convenience store that sold ice cream.

The shop was down a tourist trap street that reminded me of the area around the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

Even though the current structure (dating back to 1709) is 2/3rds the size of the original, it is still the largest wooden building in the world.

By this point we were a bit tired and hungry. Hiroko and Masumi started to head to the Horyu-ji Temple, but as it was already 4:05, and it closed at 4:30, Don, Ashley and I decided to stay in Nara and wander around. We just keep getting distracted and losing track of time. Now that I’m back in the hotel room looking at the tour book I’m reading this temple is the oldest surviving wooden structure that dates back to the early 7^th century. Coming from America, it is so hard to fathom dates that old. It is a 5-story pagoda that includes some amazing art and ancient images of the Buddha. The five stories depict the elements (earth, water, wood, air/wind, and sky). By this point, I was a bit templed-out.

Instead we went shopping. Ashley bought a pair of two-toed panda socks (looks like deer hooves), and Don shopped in a bike store, but left empty-handed. He keeps eyeing up the cool bike gadgets we see on this very bike-friendly community. After trying to find mugitoro (a potato, wheat and rice mixture that is very healthy) for lunch I was beyond starving and went to the American-style restaurant that still has a Japanese flair.

The day brought us back to Osaka via a different train route. This one took us through an ancient field where temples could be seen on other side of the route. Two thoughts: this was reminded me of like driving up the Parkway in NJ and seeing a cemetery on either side of the road and who knew there were two different train routes between Osaka and Nara.

More pictures of Nara