Our trip has taken us through South Korea, China, and now Japan. None of the natural beauty of the other countries has compared to what Kyoto has. Today we took a full-day tour visiting 5 different temples around Kyoto. We started in Nara (original capital of Japan) at the Todai-Ji Temple and the Kasuga-Taisha Shrine, next was Ninjo Castle, then Kinkaku (The Golden Pavilion), and we ended with the Kiyomizu Temple on the hill overlooking the city of Kyoto. Each visit was special and unique, and I would highly recommend each individually. Nara is about an hour drive outside of the city of Kyoto. It is blanketed with beautiful lush green parks and gardens and has some immaculate temples and shrines. Our first visit of the day brought much excitement -- deer were everywhere! (and VERY
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