Osaka, Japan

Arrival in Osaka, Japan. Okay, I’m really going to show my ignorance. Somewhere in my head, I pictured Osaka as a quaint, medium-sized city in Japan. I was so wrong. 2024 population for Osaka metro area is 18,900,000. Hmmmm… I’d best be brushing up on my cities before posting the rest of the trip. However, I must point out that it doesn’t seem that big. Traffic flows relatively smoothly-now that could be because all the main thoroughfares are elevated above the city streets.

We visited 2 world heritage sites today in the absolute pouring rain. First of all, the Todai-JI
Temple. We’re at the point like when you are in Italy. If I see one more temple/cathedral I’m going to scream. But writing this helps me keep them straight. This temple was one of the Seven Great Powerful Temples and it is located in Nara, Japan about an hour from Osaka. It boasts the largest statue of Buddha in Japan at 50’ tall,
The temple was completed in 1709. There have been a couple of rebuilds after burning since the temples are all built of wood. The 50’ Buddha is made from 400 tons of bronze!
The crazy thing about the grounds of this temple is that there are deer everywhere. Walking around, brushing by you, nipping at your jacket, eating special deer cookies that vendors sell nearby. Deer are thought to be “divine messengers” so are quite revered. They are truly everywhere.

The second world heritage site we visited was the Kasuga Taisha Shrine of Lanterns. 3000 stone lanterns line the walkways. This place was absolute magic. The misty day combined with the spectacular stone lanterns covered in moss felt like walking into a fairytale. I simply couldn’t stop taking pictures. I can only imagine what it’s like the several times a year when they light the lanterns. Again, deer roam freely though out this site.

An exciting day again. It’s a lot to take in!!
Oh, by the way, on the bus on the way back to the ship, there was quite a loud siren. Jeff and I immediately looked at each other because both of us thought it was the tsunami warning siren.
Nope, just the police pulling someone over for a traffic violation.Baca selengkapnya