Nara was the country’s capital before Kyoto and Tokyo and has some very good UNESCO sites. The most impressive was the giant Buddha housed in the world’s largest wooden structure, the Todai-ji temple. While we’d been here before, we’d forgotten just how enormous it is. We also visited the Kofuku-ji temple and pagoda and the bright orange Kasuga shrine, famous for its lanterns. While we saw lots of deer, we opted not to pet them. They seemed a bit aggressive and mangy to our eyes.
On one of our days, we took a daytrip to Ohara, a small town outside of Kyoto. We made the trip just so we could eat lunch at a restaurant run by a farmer and his wife. Delicious, simply-prepared vegetables were excellent. The town was also wonderful and had an excellent temple and garden, Sanzen-In, that would have been worth the trip alone.Read more
Marisa TDid you see that Travel & Leisure has Japan on the front cover as destination of the year? And they mentioned this restaurant in the article.
Rowena SingerI have to go back to that tempura restaurant—you and John has such great luck with meeting fellow travelers and discovering new places to eat at the counter!
JapanNaraNara34°41’6” N 135°48’18” E
JapanNaraNara34°41’6” N 135°48’18” E
Marisa T Did you see that Travel & Leisure has Japan on the front cover as destination of the year? And they mentioned this restaurant in the article.
Dobbs Away II That’s amazing! We learned about it from folks we met at the tempura restaurant.
Rowena Singer I have to go back to that tempura restaurant—you and John has such great luck with meeting fellow travelers and discovering new places to eat at the counter!