The Hanging Gardens of Nara

Went to the ancient capital of Nara today and sampled some of its wonders. I stayed well clear of the massive crowds at the main attractions like the giant Buddha at Toddoji and went off to the quieter Kasuga Taisha across the park. On the way I discovered the Botanic Gardens and a stunningly beautiful display of hanging Wisteria of all colours in various stages of blooming. Could fill several posts with all the photos I took here. Then to the shrine itself with its massive sacred tree in the central plaza and it's multiple shrines. Then a quieter shrine deeper into the woods followed by a long walk through the woods with only deer and odd Crow for company. I came out near another Temple/Shrine. It can get very confusing here as many are both Buddhist and Shinto with the two religions fully syncretised. In one of them I was the only visitor and yet it had a great hall with a massive Buddha surrounded by demons... just awe inspiring. As I was the only one there I got away with ignoring the no photography signs :-)

A short walk away I stumbled upon a Photography Museum with a couple of wonderful exhibitions. Stopped and had a break at the cafe and then continued my wandering through old houses, temples and shrines back to the JR Station. All in all about 8 hours and over 10km... I was exhausted when I got back to the hotel but managed to pull myself together and go get a meal, Italian this time and an opportunity to use a knife and fork again :-)Read more