Japan, Day 5: Nara
First and foremost, I am proud to say that I am not homeless tonight! Since I was unable to score a seat on tonight's train, I will be leaving for Tokyo bright and early tomorrow at 5:30 am...ouch! Fortunately, there was a cancellation here at the hostel, so I just had to move into another room with two Canadian guys (sorry dad, it's either that or sleep out on the street).
Kofuku-ji Temple and 5-story pagoda.
This morning I woke up to the sound of rain spattering against my window! Boo! It was pouring rain, but I downed a few cups of green tea, bundled up, and set out to the train station, armed with my umbrella, of course. Today's destination: Nara, Japan's first capital city. My Lonely Planet book states that "Whatever you do, try to go to Nara on a fine day, as visiting the sites requires a lot of walking, and it's no fun at all in bad weather." Right. Anyway, I stepped off the train in Nara, and as I was walking outside I realized I had left my umbrella on board. What's wrong with me? So like any good tourist, I went to the convenience store and bought the ever-popular, ever-stylish poncho. I was lookin' good!
Todai-ji's Daibutsu-den (Hall of the Great Buddha) is the largest wooden building in the world.
Nara is a pretty small town with lots of good temples and shrines. Being quite templed-out at this point, however, I just hit the major places. My first temple grounds, Kofuku-ji, was built in 710 and includes quite an impressive 5-story pagoda. The next place I visited was definitely my favorite. Todai-ji is the home of probably the world's largest bronze Buddha. On either side of him are two extremely large Buddhasattvas (that's probably not the right word, but it sounds good). I know I've used this word way too much this week, but it was simply amazing. And for the first time, we were actually allowed to take pictures!
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The Great Buddha: To give you an idea of how big this guy is, I could probably fit into one of his nostrils.
After Todai-ji, I walked around a bit, and the weather finally improved a bit. I walked through Nara Park, which is filled with heaps of stinky deer...apparently the Buddhists think they are sacred or something.
One of the Buddhasattvas flanking the massive Buddha at Todai-ji Temple.
I finally hopped back on the train for Kyoto around 4:30 pm, bought some sushi at the market, and back to the hostel I came. I must be in bed soon so that I can get up around 4:30 am...not looking forward to that, but I am excited about getting to Tokyo and meeting up with Kelly. And keep your fingers crossed that it's a fine day so that I can see Mt. Fuji from the train!
Kofuku-ji Temple and 5-story pagoda.
This morning I woke up to the sound of rain spattering against my window! Boo! It was pouring rain, but I downed a few cups of green tea, bundled up, and set out to the train station, armed with my umbrella, of course. Today's destination: Nara, Japan's first capital city. My Lonely Planet book states that "Whatever you do, try to go to Nara on a fine day, as visiting the sites requires a lot of walking, and it's no fun at all in bad weather." Right. Anyway, I stepped off the train in Nara, and as I was walking outside I realized I had left my umbrella on board. What's wrong with me? So like any good tourist, I went to the convenience store and bought the ever-popular, ever-stylish poncho. I was lookin' good!
Todai-ji's Daibutsu-den (Hall of the Great Buddha) is the largest wooden building in the world.
Nara is a pretty small town with lots of good temples and shrines. Being quite templed-out at this point, however, I just hit the major places. My first temple grounds, Kofuku-ji, was built in 710 and includes quite an impressive 5-story pagoda. The next place I visited was definitely my favorite. Todai-ji is the home of probably the world's largest bronze Buddha. On either side of him are two extremely large Buddhasattvas (that's probably not the right word, but it sounds good). I know I've used this word way too much this week, but it was simply amazing. And for the first time, we were actually allowed to take pictures!
.jpg)
The Great Buddha: To give you an idea of how big this guy is, I could probably fit into one of his nostrils.
After Todai-ji, I walked around a bit, and the weather finally improved a bit. I walked through Nara Park, which is filled with heaps of stinky deer...apparently the Buddhists think they are sacred or something.
One of the Buddhasattvas flanking the massive Buddha at Todai-ji Temple.
I finally hopped back on the train for Kyoto around 4:30 pm, bought some sushi at the market, and back to the hostel I came. I must be in bed soon so that I can get up around 4:30 am...not looking forward to that, but I am excited about getting to Tokyo and meeting up with Kelly. And keep your fingers crossed that it's a fine day so that I can see Mt. Fuji from the train!
posted by Tiffany Joiner @ 7:09 AM
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