Nara

After a great time in Kyoto, we packed our bags and headed for the ancient capital city of Nara. Tokyo wasn't always the capital of Japan. The first permanent capital was Nara and after that it was Kyoto and then Tokyo was made the capital. Nara still has a few pretty interesting things to see and it still feels very Japanese and not so much like a concrete jungle. It is a small town and we could see everything we wanted to see in just a few hours.

Nara was also the place where I tasted my first Japanese McDonald's. I just had french fries, but they were really good french fries. We stopped there for a little sustenance before heading off to see the sights.

This is one of the first things we saw. It was on the grounds of Kofuku-ji. I thought it looked cool, so I took a picture.
All over the grounds were deer. I couldn't believe how close they were getting to people. I soon found out that it was because people were feeding them. I wanted my friend to try and take this picture so it looked like I was petting the deer, but the deer kept moving.

This is the five-story pagoda. It dates from 1426. It is the second tallest in Japan. The tallest is in Kyoto and is only the winner by a few centimeters.
I kept seeing little kids walking up and petting the deer. And I really wanted to try it. So here I am petting the deer for real. Some of the deer looked a little rough with patches of fur missing, at first we thought they were sick, but then we figured that it was just time for them to shed, because the seasons were changing. In the beginning, it was really cool to have all the deer wandering around. But eventually it just got annoying. Because there were already tons of people around and then you throw in wild animals that don't control their bodily functions and are begging for food. I don't know who came up with this crazy idea, but he ought to be fired.
The three story pagoda.
Me in front of the five story pagoda.
Then we headed in the direction of the Daibutsu-den. On the way, we saw this little shrine with chairs set up and people all sitting and waiting. And there were also these little ice sculptures, some of which had flowers inside. An official looking lady said we were welcome to sit down. So we did. And after a few minutes a Japanese man dressed in a traditional costume came and did a dance. He left and came back with three women and they all danced.
This is one of the women mid-dancing. It was really cool and none of us had any idea what was going on. Until we got to our hostel in Osaka and saw a sign that talked about an ice festival in Nara. It had something to do with thanking the gods for something. Sorry, I should have written it down. But the dance was cool.
Then it was on to the Daibutsu-den Hall. "Dai" is big and "butsu" is Buddha. So we were going to see the Big Buddha. And boy was it big. This was the gate to get to his home.
And that is me in front of where the big guy lives. This is the largest wooden structure in the world. This structure was rebuilt in 1709 and is only 2/3 the size of the original.
There is the big buddha. Sorry the picture is bad; it was dark in there. This statue took quite a beating over the years. He literally lost his head a few times during earthquakes and fires. I read that there is a slight difference in coloration between the head and body. But it was too dark to see it. This guy is 16 meters high and is made of 437 tons of bronze and 130kg of gold. Just looks like a big idol to me. I just kept thinking how sad it was that so many people had spent so much time and money building a statue that could do nothing to save them.
Behind the buddha there was a column with a hole in the base of it. The hole is the size of one of the buddha's nostrils. And it is believed that if you can squeeze through you will reach enlightenment. Here is Shane. He made it through.
And Heathyr made it through too. I didn't try.
Next stop was the Nigatsu-do. This offers a beautiful view of the city of Nara.
Erin on the way to Nigatsu-do.
The view of Nara.
Lanterns on the porch of Nijatsu-do.
This was a huge bell that we saw on the way back to the station. Erin suggested that I go stand inside and she would ring it. I declined.
Then it was time for dinner. I had read about a place called Don. It was advertised as healthy Japanese fast food. I had some good ramen there. However it was one of the few meals I didn't take a picture of.

Then it was off to the train station so we could get to our hostel in Osaka and get some sleep.

















After a great time in Kyoto, we packed our bags and headed for the ancient capital city of Nara. Tokyo wasn't always the capital of Japan. The first capital was Nara and after that it was Kyoto and then Tokyo was made the capital. Nara still has a few