Nara

Pretty exhuasted at the moment, so hopefully this entry won:t be too random today... Been walking around Kyoto today, going to check out the older part of the city tonight, maybe catch a Geisha sighting or two..

Nara is both one of the more beautiful cities in Japan I've visited, as well as the friendliest. The train to Nara is a pretty small line.. .at times only one track so the other train needs to wait. met a professor from Korea here, very nice guy he's doing work at the Kyoto University for a year. Also ran into another guy, this time from Toronto, he:s here for a bit visiting his sister. Finally ran into a girl from Japan itself who spoke really good English, she was in the UK for a couple of years doing her post doc. Gotta love the more laid back atmosphere of the smaller cities here.

The sights are quite impressive here. The museum wasn't anything special, but the actual historical sites are laid out quite nice. Most are in a park district now, with like 1200 Deers running around... in ancient times they were considered messengers of god so very well liked. However now its just fun watching the kids feed them these Deer biscuits then run away as the deer approaches. The only group that probably outnumbered the deer were students.. tons of kids, mostly from japan but a couple of groups from Australia too judging by the accents. The most impressive temple was Todai-ji. Inside it is the worlds largest Wooden Structure, and trust me, its HUGE. Inside is just a massive bronze Buddhist statue too. They also have this hollow wooden cylinder. The story goes that anyone who can fit in it gets their wishes granted.. so lots of people try. Kids can fit through it, but that doesn't stop the adults from trying / getting stuck! Lots of fun. Would have tried it myself but the lineup was huge. Also checked out this really impressive Japanese garden which I took a bunch of pictures of, as well as just other random shots around Nara.

Had just an amazing Japanese meal the other day.. its near where I:m staying in the Naramachi district, an older styled bunch of avenues. Turns out it was literaly a five course meal. Sashimi, Tempura, chicken, plum wine, green tea ice cream, other stuff I couldn't identify. Plus some very high end sake in the coolest pouring bottle. The middle of it was full of ice and open on the side, with the top of a flower inside. However it was angled so if you poured it the ice didn't fall out. Quite impressive. Very very VERY cool little restaurant.

Thats it for today, write more later!

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