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Nara
Five-storied pagoda Today has been a very full day. I slept in until 8am! Almost a human hour to wake up 😉
This morning we walked through Nara-Koen some more on the way to various temples and shrines. We saw Kofukuji temple and the five-story pagoda next to it. The pagodas are so pretty and iconic. Also around was a building called Nanendo. We walked for a long while until we reached Todaiji temple. There were a ton of tourists around -- they get brought in by the busloads.
Todaiji is the home of the Daibutsuden Hall, where the giant Buddha lives. He was such an impressive statue. On either side of him were smaller statues. Really awe inspiring and peaceful. Right outside was a wooden statue of Binzuru -- who was a student of Buddha that mastered the occult. You are supposed to rub a part of him and rub the corresponding part on yourself and it is supposed to relieve your ailments. I wanted to rub his feet, but I couldn't find them, so I rubbed his leg instead.
Afterwards we picked up a samurai sword for my brother. Hopefully he likes it. It's not an actual actual
Nara
Sign in Nara-Koen sword - it is made dull, and is for decoration. We shipped it home for him.
After Buddha, we walked towards Kasuga Taisha - the largest Shrine in Nara City. Along the pathways there were tons of stone lanterns. The shrine itself was really pretty. There were more lanterns there -- metal ones. In total there are 2,000 stone lanterns and 3,000 metal ones. They only light them 2-3 times a year. I can imagine it must be beautiful when they are lit.
When we walked in the Shrine there were pristesses running the place. Their outfits were really cool. Also there was a traditional Japanese wedding taking place. I was really happy to see a bit of that. The bride and groom were in traditional wear, and it was just interesting to watch.
We walked to find the tempura place we tried to eat at last night, but couldn't. So we just picked a random place. I got chicken and a fried egg over rice. It's just so good. Afterwards we picked up some pastries at a bakery.
Back in the room I soaked in a super hot bath to help my achey feet. Then
Nara
Daibutsuden (Buddha is inside). They are setting up for a festival. I ate my pasteries on our deck. Very low-key afternoon.
This evening we left to try and find this temple that was close by. We kept looking and looking and didn't find it. Finally i noticed a little sign with the temple name on it. We had walked by it TWICE already!! It was really small and inbetween just a bunch of living areas. It was closed so we couldn't see anything.
Then we had dinner at the Tempura Place 😊 It was excellent. We got an assortment of vegetables, fish, and shrimp with Rice. I loved it. Definitely worth going back to have!
We walked back to the hotel when Dad decided he wanted ice cream ---- so we walked back to the busy area. It started to rain a little bit, but not very hard.
Tomorrow we are going to try and see some temples and then head for Kyoto! I'm excited, though I have really liked Nara. I would come here again.
An afterthought -- The toilet in our room has a heated seat. It was surpring and weird....but kind of nice in a way.
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