Too cute

Last time I came to Japan I wrote a post called “Farewell Kyoto”. I guess at the time I had no idea if I would be back. Well, turns out I came back and am leaving again.

As mentioned in the last post, today was just a spare day, and like I thought I might, I decided to have a lazy day, strolling the parks of Nara. Those that read my blog last time know it was one of my favourite places, so to come back was very cool. This time I didn’t feel compelled to need to see everything hidden in every nook and cranny. Really I just strolled and went to my favourite temple, Todai-Ji, the one with the big buddah.

So in many ways I will keep this blog entry pretty light on too, because if you really want to know about Nara, you can check out my older post… much more detail.

Everyone knows who runs this place

As usual, the deer were out in force. My favourite thing is seeing naive folk buy the deer biscuits and then get mobbed by deer. Ha ha… traps for young players.

That's a big temple

And needless to say Todai-Ji is still breathtaking. The amazingly huge all wooden structure takes the breath away…

... and that's a big Buddah

… as does the big buddah inside. Bigger than the one I visited on my first day in Kamakura.

Scary...

This time I decided I was enlightened enough and declined the opportunity to crawl through the nostril. Maybe another day.

Wave goodbye

As I wandered the parks it was interesting to note two things I didn’t know about Nara…

Lucky I decided it was too cold for a swim

First is the piranha problem.

What do they have against Pacman?

Second is their prejudice against Pacman. How odd.

You are getting sleepy...

So after about 4 or 5 hours of wandering I headed back to Kyoto. Before heading back to the hostel I decided to pay a visit to the bamboo forest I visited last trip too.

Another obligatory self-portrait

It is not huge, but it is gorgeous to be in amongst the swaying bamboo. Clears the mind better than any zen garden I think.

From there it was some okonomyaki for dinner and back to camp. Need to get my bag sorted for in the morning I jump on a train to Kanazawa, home of the most amazing Japanese gardens apparently. So assuming I have wi-fi again will let you know my verdict tomorrow.

Sayonara Kyoto!