One of the many choices

Nara

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October 12th 2012
We left Kyoto in the morning and arrived at Nara pretty quickly. Many people come here as a day trip from Kyoto and walking out of the station my immediate thoughts were that we probably should have done that too. The surrounding area reminded me of Spencer Street Station in 1990 - pretty ordinary. Even the Lonely Planet edition of 1995 reckons it is an uninspiring town on first appearance. Once w ... read more

Asia » Japan » Nara » Nara

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In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more