Oh deer! A daytrip to Nara

Today we planned a daytrip to Japan's first fixed capital: Nara. It's a city located south of Kyoto, in between Kyoto and Osaka. It has a huge park that has various temples in it and is also known for the many deer that are around.

After having finished our breakfast in the hotel, we set off to the nearest subway station. We take the subway line for only one stop and transfer to an express line to Nara. The whole trajectory takes 1h and we have to stand upright for the majority of the trip as it's rush hour time. In the carriage it's easy to spot the tourists that will continue the line to the end station of Nara, and who is on his/her way to work. As more and more people exit the train over time, we find a seating place so we're well rested to start our day of exploring in an unfamiliar area.

Around the train station, there are some main shopping streets with food stalls and souvenir shops. We decide to walk for a little while in one of those streets and then take the shortest path to the nearest temple at the edge of Nara Park.

Where we enter the park, there are some construction works going on and you have to buy admission tickets for some specific temples. After having a quick look on Google what's to see inside of the temple, we decide to skip this one and continue strolling through the park. It's filled with different temples and visiting them all would just be too much. Besides, having spent the last two days visiting temples as well, we enjoy viewing them from the outside and appreciating the surroundings as well. Just before joining back on the main road that's cutting through the park, we see a lot of deer. The animals clearly know how to interact with tourists and even learned to bow in order to get some food. There are 'deer crackers' stalls everywhere and people try to get the best pictures of themselves with their four-legged friends.

The main attraction of Nara Park is Todaiji Temple with it's enormous Nandaimon gate leading up to it. We follow the flow of people in the direction of the temple. Our way is interrupted by taking pictures of deer that come close and might just make a good picture. In the end, they rather quickly realize that if it's only for a picture and no food they don't have to hang around for long. Smart creatures!

Why all these deer at Nara? Deer are considered holy animals and messengers from the gods. It certainly is the place to convey your message!

We arrive at the Nandaimon gate with two gigantic sculptures on the side. It's a good thing we have a phone with a wide-angle lens, because otherwise it would be hard to fit everything on screen. On the picture below, you can't see the sculptures because they are placed inside of the structure. When walking through the gate, they are placed on your left and right side and are as tall as the whole bottom compartment of the gate.

Having passed through the gate, it's a straight line to the Todaiji temple. There's a museum on the left-hand side but we head straight for "the real deal" in front of us. Following the straight road from the gate provides a great opportunity to take a picture of the temple itself as the stairs place you slightly higher than the tourists inside. If you can hold your camera high enough, it provides a nice frontal picture of the temple. Having taken our shot, we head to the entrance to get our ticket and see this grand building from the close by.

The temple grounds are - as usual - super well maintained. The grass is equally green, the hedges are trimmed to perfection and flowers are in bloom. The path leading up to the temple is sided by a colorful red hedge. Inside there's a huge buddha statue of 15m! The inner place is humongous, especially if you think about it without all the statues and tourists. Not too long ago, this was the largest wooden building in the world. Apart from the buddha statue at the entrance of the hall, there are other tall wooden statues of protectors of the gods.

With the main attraction behind us, we continue to stroll through the park at a relaxed pace. Time for a chilled coffee from one of the vending machines and eat a cookie. We're not sitting alone for long as a curious deer spotted some food in our hands and would happily nibble along.

The park is calmer away from todaiji and there's still plenty of other temples to discover. We go to Nigatsudo Hall which is located on a small hill. The hall has a terrace that provides a view over the surroundings and the city of Nara. The stone walls next to the stairs give it an authentic feeling.

We stop by some other temples as we gradually finish our loop through the park. We finish near the Shosoin storehouse which is a "barn" that is build on pillars. Once served as storage for rice to prevent water from getting in. Later used to store the treasures of the todaiji temple and the emperor's family as it was harder to steal from an elevated place. You can't enter the building and there's only one spot where you can view the building. It's nice to see, but you don't really spend a lot of time there.

Our loop is complete and it's time to head back to the train station. Before going to the tracks, we discover the little shopping streets surrounding the station and try some different snacks. About a lot of stuff we have no clue whatsoever what it is, so we have to ask. We try some different things. Tasty for sure, very sticky as well.

It's not the first time we have come across some weird stores, but this time we found one that solely sells gaming cards. And of course, a lot of them about Pokémon. If you wish to complete your collection (and you speak Japanese) this is the place to be!

The train ride back is even busier than the way to Nara as we are joined in the last carriage by a whole class of children going back to Kyoto. We're squeezed in but enjoy the landscape as it passes by through the rear window of the train.

We switch trains in Kyoto station instead of closer to our hotel to have some more breathing room. Few minutes later we arrive back at our familiar hotel and take a rest and start looking for where we want to have dinner tonight.

We set our mind to a small restaurant in the vicinity of the hotel that serves dim-sum style food. It's a small place but quiet and calm. We order a menu for 2 people and are eager to discover what we will be served. It's very tasty food and luckily the plates stopped coming when we were getting (overly) stuffed.

When we exit the restaurant, it started raining. We quickly walk back to our hotel and start making our suitcases. Tomorrow, we will travel to Hiroshima. Checking the weather forecast, that's an excellent timing as the next few days Kyoto will be rainy and Hiroshima sunny. Luck is on our side!Meer informatie