Nara

We took the train to Nara, which was the first permanent capital of Japan. It is second only to Kyoto for culture…with eight Unesco World Heritage Sites. Most people make it a day trip from Kyoto, as it is a short train ride…but we were happy to have two nights in this smaller more quaint town after the craziness of Kyoto.

We decided to do another “Lonely Planet” walking tour. It took us through Nara-koen, a huge park that is home to around 1200 deer that are considered National Treasures (so basically run the place). The picture above is of Isui-En, a garden.

This is one of the Nio guardians which is housed in the Nandai-mon which is the enormous gate for the temple Todai-ji. These impressive statues are made of wood and they are MASSIVE. As you stand below them you only hope they don’t spring to life!

The Daibutsu-den Hall….the largest wooden building in the world. The tourists look like ants outside of it. The present structure was rebuilt in 1709 and is a mere two-thirds of the size of the original! Yikes.

The Daibutsu (Great Buddha)…note me in the lower right hand corner…just to emphasize how big it truly is! It is one of the largest bronze figures in the world. It consists of 437 tons of bronze and 130kg of gold. It’s withstood earthquakes and fires, and has lost its head a few times.

There was a huge line of tiny children waiting to go through this hole. Popular belief maintains that those who can squeeze through the hole, which is exactly the size of one of the Great Buddha’s nostrils, are ensured enlightenment.

The Kasuga Taisha shrine…known for its hundreds of lanterns.

I asked Dean to please give me back my dress as we took the elevator down to breakfast…;)

Our last night in Japan! Splurged with a bottle of Australian Pinot Noir and some amazing parfaits. Off to Thailand for a night (wish us luck!) and then quickly to Laos!