Blogs from Nara, Japan, Asia - page 10

Idag var vi Nara, som ligger godt en times kørsel med "bumletog" fra Kyoto. Byen var Japans første permanente hovedstad fra år 710, men måtte afgive tronen til først Nagaoka og efterfølgende Kyoto. Byen er lille efter japansk målestok med sine ca. 360.000 indbyggere. Den er meget overskuelig og alle seværdigheder er inden for gå-afstand fra banegården, så vi havde spændt sandalerne for at se henholdsvis Todajii- og Kasuga Taisha templerne som begge er UNESCO dekorerede. Hele området vrimler med dådyr, ligesom vi også oplevede det på Miayima-øen ved Hiroshima. I Nara er de ligeså tamme og fuldstændigt upåvirkede af de mange turister. Todajii templet er Naras ubestridte top attraktion. Templet har en bronzestatue af Buddha, som er 16 meter høj og vejer 500 ton. Den sidder inde i "Daibutsuden" bygningen, som er verdens største træbygning ... read more

We arrived off our first Shinkansen journey impressed with the efficiency, comfort and speed of the Japanese railway system. I guess you wouldn't expect anything less from a country that is truely mad about trains. It seems the whole country is criss-crossed with railway lines which make travel around cheapish (if you have the railpass) and certainly a million times easier that it would be on a bus. On the train system alot of the information is in english so getting off the train at the right place is a breeze. After a quick ride on a local train from Kyoto we arrived in Nara, to our shame it wasn't a place we had even heard of before arriving in Japan. The primary reason to visit was to meet Mayumi and see her amazing Cafe in ... read more

Jess arranged for an overnight stay in Nara, home of the largest wooden building in the World. Having spent the first three hours of our morning on the train, we sacrificed any need for R&R and, after lunch, headed straight for Todai-ji Temple to see Nara’s main attraction. Burned out by our incessant travels, I was rather lackadaisical on the cab ride over until I spotted several wild deer grazing alongside the road. As though I had been subject to shock treatment, I was jolted back to life with the blink of an eye and began pleading for time to pet the revered animals. As we pulled up to the footpath leading to the temple, I was convinced that it was National Field Trip Day as several hundreds of young students congregated on the sidewalk, teasing ... read more

The somewhat ignorant, probably hideously offensive but ultimately pretty funny jibe goes: "you're never alone with schizophrenia". If that is the case then I can conclude that it is possible to come close to experiencing living with this unfortunate mental disorder by travelling in Japan. The Japanese really seem to struggle with the idea of solitude. They live in houses where the walls are so thin that as they lie in bed doing the crossword, they can ask their neighbour two doors down for help with seven across. When did paper walls ever seem like a good idea? Sure, they look pretty and are easy to replace; but lets be honest, you're less likely to put your big toe through a good old plaster and brickwork number. I mean it's all getting a bit ridiculous when ... read more

After four chaotic days and nights in Tokyo, we boarded a speedy Shinkansen train and hauled ass to Osaka, heart of the Kansai region and jumping off point to see the culture and history of Japan. The citizens of Osaka are revered in travel literature as friendly, down to earth people. Frankly, I thought they were just a bunch of assholes. Rude, pushy, and in a rush to get places it seems, as they were constantly darting in your path and making you change direction. That's when you discover the joys of a huge backpack handy for smushing people into doorways as they try to cut in front of you on train platforms. And if you're reading this, I saw you trying to squeeze through on my left, bitch. Osaka is essentially just another big Japanese ... read more