Nara

Hi guys! Sorry this post was postponed for so long. I got pwned by the postponed post. Postponed post-pwned. I just wanted to give one last highlight from my trip - the post from Brigg and my trip to Nara during spring break, as promised. Better late than never. It being spring, the sakura were in bloom, and we hit Nara just about at the ideal time. There were a LOT of tourists there, so while we didn't exactly blend in, at least we weren't the only ones wandering around with sparkles in our eyes. There will be many Wiki links in this post, as I try to outline everything we did. Here's a basic one of the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nara%2C_Nara

Let's go to the photos!

Like I say, we went at a great time of year. This is Nara park, just entering the historical district. One of the main things about Nara is the deer. There are tame deer that walk all over the place in the historic area. Well, I say tame, but there are vendors that sell shika sembei - deer crackers - that you can buy and feed to the deer, and that promptly turns the deer into aggressive, ravenous lunatics. This photo was taken just at the entrance to the park, so no deer yet, but they soon show their face.

This is a warning sign - don't piss the deer off, man.

Feeding frenzy for shika-sembei.

This is me, feeding the deer. Brigg is recording. Yay, my first video!

The first thing we saw was this temple, I guess it was famous or something, but it wasn't one of the bigger ones in Nara, so it wasn't in the guidebook. It did have this really nice draping sakura tree, though. Most sakura are just of the puffball variety, but some form streamers that hang down, which is considered special and especially beautiful.

Closeup of the stone dog and the draping sakura. People tied fortunes from that temple to the sakura streamers like they do at other temples on wires and strings usually provided near the place to buy fortunes. Those are the little pieces of paper tied to the bottom of the strands.

The first big thing we hit was Toudai-ji, or "Great Eastern Temple," which is reputedly the largest entirely wooden building in the world. Here's the wiki link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Ddai-ji

There was a long walkway up to the temple, along which we were assaulted by several more deer. It contained this gate, which is gigantic. Look at the people passing through it to give some sense of scale. It contained two guardians off to the left and right side.

Here is the actual temple. It was pretty massive. Again for scale, those are people walking through the doors.

The reason that the building is so big is that it houses the Daibutsu - an enourmous statue of a seated Buddha. This is a photo - one of its fingers is human-sized. Sometimes they have to dust it, so a priest goes out onto the statue, and stands on its outstretched hand. It's pretty phenomenal.

One more cool thing about Toudai-ji was that there was a pillar in the back that had a hole drilled through the bottom of it, and story goes that if you can get through the hole, you will be blessed in your next life. So, I gave it a shot.

I was successful. Woot. ^_^ Next life is gonna be a blast.

Next thing we did was the Kasuga Shrine, which is the most famous Shinto shrine in Nara. Shinto shrines are not as common as Buddhist shrines - Nara is the ancient seat of Buddhism in Japan. Here's the Wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasuga_Shrine

It doesn't say in the entry, but Princes of the Imperial family were also tutored here. Fun fact!

The avenues leading to the Kasuga shrine are lined with thousands of stone lanterns. We were looking forward to seeing them, and they were breathtaking.

Yay! At one point, we saw a small child playing hide-and-seek with a deer among the stone lanterns - the deer would wander slowly away, and the kid would follow, peeking between the lanterns. I really wish I had gotten a video.

Last thing we saw that day was Koufuku-ji, another Buddhist temple of many in Nara. It was a big enclosure, which contained this huge five-story pagoda. Nice peaceful way to round out the day, and just chill and rest our aching feet for a while. Here's the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dfuku-ji

Well, that's about it. If you've been reading this, thanks for your patronage! I have further adventures in Osaka and Takasaki, but odds are, you've been reading this because we can't talk in person, and most of the people I wanted to keep in touch with are actually talking with me these days. So, I probably won't continue this blog unless I get specific requests for stuff. If you WOULD like to see something, please post a comment, and I'll hook you up. Otherwise,

AbediabadiaThat's All, Folks!

And that's the way it is.

You stay classy, San Diego.

And knowing is half the battle. (Yo Joe!)

Good night, John Boy!

Help control the pet population, have your pet spayed or neutered.

I am Mr. Ed.

Sit Ubu, sit.

Grrooowl! Rowl!

（おわり）