Nara

I was in Nara City from Nov 21st to the 23rd. I hoped on the train right after work, got a bit lost trying to find the Kintetsu Line in Tsuruhashi, and made it to a fellow ALT's apartment by late evening.



Nara is a former capital city from the 700s and is known for Nara Park, which is crawling in deer, young families, and tourists. You can purchase a stack of shika sembei or deer crackers for 150 yen and be accosted by little deer. I've heard stories and seen pictures of deer bowing politely in order to receive a cracker, but these guys were pretty adamant. They're all pretty tame, if pushy, and you can pet them. In October there are a few antler cutting ceremonies, where many of the male deer are rounded up and have their antlers removed to keep the deer from going on bloody rampages.





This is the approach to Todai-ji. You can buy all the souvenirs you could ever want here. I picked up some delicious deer droppings (chocolate peanuts) for some neighbors and some deer-shaped cookies for everyone at my base school. I never ever ever buy omiyage when I visit other towns and figured I probably should this time.



This is Todai-ji, the largest wooden structure in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside you'll find a Buddha (the Daibutsu or Large Buddha) and some guardian statues. To Buddha's left there is a pillar with a hole in the bottom. If you crawl through it, then (according to various sources) you'll become enlightened/have a long life/have happiness/have a wish granted. The hole is the size of the Buddha's nostril. I was the only person above the age of nine waiting in line to crawl through (hint: go in diagonally with one arm in front).



Crummy picture. One just has to wonder, though: did I climb out of or into Buddha's head? What if I was already enlightened and this undid all my work? What then?



After Todai-ji we headed over to Nigatsu-do, which offered a great sight of the city and some tea. I also picked up what I've seen called a goshuin, a noukyouchou, or a shuinchou. Whatever you want to call it, it's a book of stamps and calligraphy signed by a priest at a temple. For me it's just a souvenir, but it acts as proof of your visit to a temple. I'll post some pictures later.

Then it was back to the apartment for some delicious lemon soup, cheese and crackers (boursin!), and fruity tea. Oh yeah, and SLEEP!

On Sunday we saw the Kofuku-ji complex.



While waiting in line to see some Buddhist statues in a stupa we chitchatted a little with some Japanese ladies who wanted to know if I got my little red pepper charm from Korea. The conversation was prefaced by a listing of languages that we might have possibly been speaking (French? English?).



Also part of Kohfukuji was this octogonal temple with a Kannon statue inside. More info here.



Afterwards we walked around the newer part of town. We got some fresh mochi. Mmm mmm! Too bad I was already bursting at the seams from all the food I had eaten throughout the day.

I'm looking forward to returning to Nara one day and seeing more of it.