Japan—Kyoto, Osaka & Nara

We decided to use Osaka as a hub for some exploring since it’s a bit more affordable and easy to navigate. It’s a huge city but it feels calmer than the area of Tokyo where we stayed.

On Friday, we took the train to Kyoto. We walked all around, to several shrines, parks, a bamboo forest and little shopping streets. There were so many places that had been there for centuries. I think the fall colors looked great with all the orange architecture. The first place was Fushimi Inari, and it was more of a hike than a wander. There were 10,000 orange gates up a big hill, so we got our steps in early that day. I think we had close to 30,000 by the end of the day! So many beautiful shrines and temples with so much land around them. A little like cathedrals in Europe but so much more green space around them. I wonder what it would be like if western cultures dedicated so much space to honoring God.

Saturday we stayed in Osaka. We walked around Osaka Castle in the morning and called the boys while they were together in Lawrence. Then we explored a street food market. They really like exotic sea food here—urchins, squid, and more! We tried eel, wagyu, and chicken skewers, dumplings, and a regional omelette/pancake called okonomiyaki. And boba—Lois is good at finding that. Then we went to a kitchen store area and shopped for knives. I bought a pretty green santoku one and Drew got one to help with his bbq prep work.

Sunday we went to Nara, about an hour on the train. There was a huge park with a temple with a giant Buddha statue from around 750 AD. So old! There is a pillar next to the statue with a tunnel cut out that is supposed to be the size of the statue’s nostril. People line up to go through it—if you can make it through you are supposed to have longevity and a year of good luck. Of course, Drew wanted to try. He was the only one to go through feet first. He said he had to exhale fully to get his ribs small enough!

Nara is also famous for the wild deer all around the park. They sell little deer biscuits to feed them. They will bow to you for a biscuit. That is the real reason we came to Nara, and Lois loved it. We had lots of fun greeting dozens of deer. There were warning signs everywhere about bucks being dangerous, but Lois fed them all alike. :)

Today, we are on a bullet train to Hiroshima. I have a feeling it will be a little like visiting the Holocaust museum or Yad Vashem. Sad but so important. Only 3 more nights in Japan…Read more