Nara
Have just got back from Nara - once the capital of Japan (although it was then known as Heijo-no-Kyo) back in the 8th century. Kyoto is much more famous and there are some beautiful places there, but in many ways I prefer Nara. It's much quieter and much more relaxed than Kyoto. Most of the main sights are in Nara Park, which has wild deer roaming in it. I left with Takako this morning when she left for work, so I was in Nara by 7.45am. There was hardly anyone about and even Todai-ji temple, which is Nara's most famous sight, was unusually quiet until the school groups arrived.
I'd forgotten how impressive Todai-ji is. The wooden hall, which contains a huge Buddha image, is the world's biggest wooden building (for those of you in Sydney reading this it's nearly the same height as the height of the deck of the Sydney Harbour Bridge above the water below - around 50m). Apparently the original building was even bigger, but it was destroyed in a fire and there wasn't enough funds when the hall was rebuilt to rebuild it the same size.
From Todai-ji I wandered through the park to Kasuga-jinja Shrine then after a very delicious lunch (the food obsession continues - today I had kamameshi - rice cooked with mushrooms and vegetables in a tradtional rice pot) followed this trail through the forest to the top of Mt.Wakakusa. The forests around Nara are considered sacred, so they haven't chaged in centuries. Unfortunately it's still too early for the autumn leaves, but it was still wondeful being surrounded by so much greenery.
Walking back towards the station later in the afternoon I decided to visit some gardens I came across in one of the back streets. There I got talking to three tourists I'd met earlier at Kasuga-jinja and we ended up talking for about an hour. Turns out one of them lives in Newtown in Sydney. It's a very small world.
I'd forgotten how impressive Todai-ji is. The wooden hall, which contains a huge Buddha image, is the world's biggest wooden building (for those of you in Sydney reading this it's nearly the same height as the height of the deck of the Sydney Harbour Bridge above the water below - around 50m). Apparently the original building was even bigger, but it was destroyed in a fire and there wasn't enough funds when the hall was rebuilt to rebuild it the same size.
From Todai-ji I wandered through the park to Kasuga-jinja Shrine then after a very delicious lunch (the food obsession continues - today I had kamameshi - rice cooked with mushrooms and vegetables in a tradtional rice pot) followed this trail through the forest to the top of Mt.Wakakusa. The forests around Nara are considered sacred, so they haven't chaged in centuries. Unfortunately it's still too early for the autumn leaves, but it was still wondeful being surrounded by so much greenery.
Walking back towards the station later in the afternoon I decided to visit some gardens I came across in one of the back streets. There I got talking to three tourists I'd met earlier at Kasuga-jinja and we ended up talking for about an hour. Turns out one of them lives in Newtown in Sydney. It's a very small world.
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