Nara, Capital of Japan 710-784 AD.

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As you may know, the US carpet bombed Tokyo in World World II and spent the next 30 years after the war financing the rebuilding of Tokyo. That is why much of Tokyo is modern and there is very little of ancient Tokyo that still exists to visit.

So while in Japan we visited other destinations such as Kyoto and Nara to see Ancient Temples and Shrines. You can get to Nara by train in about 30 minutes from Kyoto. We were told to treat it like a day trip, so we arrived in the morning and took the train back in the afternoon. Most of the memorable sites exists inside a large park called the Deer Park, which is said to be the home of 1200 deer. As you can see from the pictures, the deer are everywhere.

Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784. Two must sees in Nara are the Todajii Temple and the Kasuga Shrine. But since you walk through the Deer Park to see these various shrines, you will see many interesting sites. The Todajii Temple is said to be the largest all wooden building in the world, and houses the largest Budhha statue in Japan. From our best estimation, the pictures with all the lanterns are from Kasuga Shrine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasuga_Shrine
http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/nara.html

So, what is the difference between a Shrine and a Temple in Japan? Mostly, a Shrine is a symbol of entering a house of Shinto worship, the first religion of Japan. The word Temple is more often referred to as a place of Buddhist worship. You see, most of the population of Japan believes in two or more religions, and will actually integrate both into their lives. They do not consider it a sin to worship more than one god or to worship or respect the religions of others; or to see wisdom in the teaching of the gods of others.

The primary religions of Japan (80-90%) are Buddhism (Buddhist Temples) and Shintoism (Shinto Shrines). I am not sure whether both Mr. Buddha and Mr. Shinto are tolerant gods willing to share the adoration of their disciples with each other. But if indeed Buddha and Shinto are jealous lovers, the Japanese people seem to love both anyway.

Two examples are named below in our pictures: Shinto Shrine, Buddhist Temple

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Japan

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Photos

Buddhist Temple
The largest Buddha statue in Japan is in this building.

Buddha
The largest Buddha in Japan.

Baby and Baby
There are deer-food vendors everywhere so the tourists can feed the deer. The deers are not afraid, so you can pet them. This baby deer was crying, so Kim was petting it to make it feel better.

He said his name was Buck
This dear said he was their leader. We circled for a bit trying to intimidate each other, but when neither of us backed down, we truced. We smoked a peace-pipe and our tribes showed respect.

Vendor
This deer was offering a number of items on sale. We talked him down on the Snickers Bars. This deer had no pockets, so the money just fell to the ground.

Nara
Mommy, what is meat?

Train Picnic
The ride home from Nara to Kyoto.

Shinto Shrine
This symbol indicates you are near or entering a Shinto Shrine. It is orange in color and sort of looks like the mathematical "Pi" sign. This one was from Kyoto, but I pasted it here as an example.