In my previous post I
gave insight into my trip to Kyoto, so I dedicate this post to my second golden
week trip, Nara.
 |
| Deer Mascot! |
Unlike Kyoto I hadn’t
heard much in particular about Nara, bar one thing. Lots. Of. Deer. And that
was no exaggeration! Nara city was absolutely filled to the brim with deer, and
not just in the form of the living animal. As soon as we arrived at the city
station we were greeted by a singing, dancing, virtual deer, vibrantly
protruding from the station screens... that was just a small taster of the deer
themed day we were about to embark on. In contrast to our previous trip, this
time we somewhat knew our destination for the day: renowned deer paradise...Nara
Park. As we headed down the streets toward the park the theme of deer was
continued. The streets were strewn with thousands of souvenir shops where you
could buy practically any product in the theme of deer! Clothes, kitchenware,
food, gadgets, toys, you name it and they had it with the face of a deer
slapped on it! There was even a deer mascot!!
 |
| So close! |
 |
| More deer! |
However it was
further into the park where we met the real deer, grazing nonchalantly,
blissfully unaware that they were the star attraction. Armed with plenty of
deer crackers meant that they were not shy, coming oh so close, mouths greedily
snatching away the crackers! As well as their greediness, years of tourist
exposure had obviously tamed them as I was even able to take selfies
with some deer, talk about 21st Century!
 |
| The Eastern Golden Hall |
 |
| The five story Pagoda |
There’s more to Nara
than just deer though. We also viewed the five story Pagoda, the Eastern Golden
Hall and the National Treasure Museum. The Pagoda was yet another towering
wonder, the Eastern Golden Hall provided a beautifully spiritual ambience and
the National Treasure Museum true to its name displayed many treasures. There
were bold bronze bells, striking statues and a great golden Buddhist God, all
beautiful in their own right.
Following this we had the pleasure of visiting
another shrine, Kasuga Taisha. The grand shrine was set in the forest with
swirling vines and tree roots decorating the area, but the truly spectacular
part of this shrine were the hundreds of lanterns that featured. The
day ended on yet another high with a meal of sushi and bitter lemon chūhais.
 |
| Lanterns leading to Kasuga Taisha |
To
round up, it’s safe to say that after my two visits I was sufficiently worn out
from endless walking, laughing and exploring, but I can’t complain. I had a
spectacularly golden Golden Week and cannot wait to visit both Kyoto and Nara
again!
Comments
Post a Comment