Nara

Fantastic Ryokan in Ki-katsuura. The best food ( dinner and breakfast, both virtually interchangeable) and all sorts of onsens, including one a boat trip away in a cave where I think thunderbird 2 used to park.
Then an effortless 4 hours of trains back north to Nara.
Nara used to be the capital of Japan, before Kyoto, before Tokyo. Therefore it has a fair smattering of old temples and a more relaxed town atmosphere on the edge of parkland and countryside. We elected for a dawn visit to the must-see great Buddha- we were actually there before they opened!- but beat the crowds. Then a wander round a load more parkland, temples of every shape and size perused by the omnipresent sicka deer.Leggi altro