Kyoto to Nara then Osaka

Kyoto turned out to be a very busy and exciting city that we all enjoyed. Now we move on to Nara. It is not too far in the bus today.

We are at Nara visiting the Todai-ji (Great Eastern Temple), famed for its Great Buddha Hall, which remains one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. This impressive UNESCO building houses a 15m-tall bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana.

Afterwards we wandered past monks residences and then through out the gorgeous Nara Park, where more than 1200 tame sika deer roam freely. It’s smelly and you have to look down to miss the droppings. If you carry anything paper they will come up and grab it. They seem content with their lives, but they really aren’t wild at all.

We lunched at Happy Kitchen which had nice burgers and fresh fruit smoothies. Some western food was a welcome change.

Last of the day was Osaka Castle. It is a historical site situated at Osaka-Jō in Chūō-ku, Osaka. It lies on the south of the Ōkawa and occupies a large area in the center of the city of Osaka. This park is the second largest park in the city. The crowds here were huge but it was great to see this marvelous structure.

Can you spot the deer in the tree picture?Read more