Oh Deer

Day 14 ~ 12,590 Miles

We made our way to Nara, which was the capital of Japan before Kyoto and Tokyo. But we came to see the Todaiji Temple’s Daibutsu. The temple is one of the world’s largest wooden structures and is an impressive home to 52 foot tall bronze Buddha affectionately called “Big Buddha“.

I felt drawn to light 3 candles today after learning the meaning of the position of the hands of Big Buddha.

Left hand = Don’t worry
Right hand = I will take care of you.

So today I lit one candle for my parents, one candle for my brother Dennis, and one candle for my loved ones and friends that may be struggling or searching for comfort or peace.

The park surrounding Todaiji is full of adorable, tame, free-roaming deer, which were traditionally regarded as messengers of a Shinto god.

I’m unable to come up with an appropriate segue from temple to tea so let me get directly to the point. I enjoy a good glass of iced tea, especially in hot weather. But Japanese tea is NOT anything close to what I grew up drinking. We stopped at the headquarters of a famous Japanese tea producer and made matcha powder using a mill stone to grind the tea leaves, then prepared a cup of hot tea in the traditional Japanese manner. Personally I think matcha tastes like grass I ate as a child. Give me a tall glass of ice and allow me to listen to it crackle as that strong, sweet, freshly brewed Lipton black tea is poured over the ice. Now that’s tea.Read more