Wowza, the Japanese sure know how to charge road tolls….three hours of driving today and $90nzd thank you very much to use the Sanyo Expressway from Onomichi via Kyoto to Nara.
Mind you, that was one impressive road, blasted straight through the mountains and hills, Rosie lost count of the amount of tunnels The Operator drove through on the way to Nara.
Nara itself is a large town of 360,000, once apon a time back in the 7th century it was the capitol of Japan for a whole 75 years….hence how it got its major sights built all with in that time span.
Nara is compact from a tourist perspective and most of the sights to see are based around the Nara-koen (Nara Park). It was drizzling with rain again today, just enough to be a nuisance but not really enough to get saturated. It meant though that everyone on the ground was wielding an umbrella. Rosie hates umbrella warfare and how aggressive everyone gets with this weapon in their hands.
Not in Japan though, everyone is polite, keeps outwith their neighbors drip line and they tend to give way a lot. The chaos wasn’t as bad as it looked in one of the busiest tourist locations in Japan.
Entering Nara Park there is a tranquil, serene garden to visit first. It sets the scene and gets you in a peaceful frame of mind for the mayhem to come. Who doesn’t love a Japanese garden?
Isui-en is right up there with the best. So many little perfect vignettes as you twist and turn around the paths, cross stone bridges and hop across stepping stones. You would think the gardens are so huge but they are actually very small and super laid out.
This park is also home to 1200 deer, who are considered messengers of the gods and actually have national treasure status.
They roam freely in the park and surrounding area and The Operator was surprised how tame they were, working the crowds and sniffing handbags for the hope of treats.
Todai-ji is the Temple that everyone here has come to see today. It starts with the great entry gate Nandai-Mon, the deer were right up at the gate having climbed the steep steps, quite amazing considering the amount of people here and their total lack of timidness.
This gate contains two gigantic guardians, thought to be some of the biggest wooden carvings in the world, they date from the 13th Century. These dramatic guardians look so fierce and also look ready to spring to life at a moments notice.
Next we walk the umbrella gauntlet to the entrance of the Temple buy a ticket and there in the courtyard before us is the Diabutsu-Den Hall (The Great Buddha Hall). It is huge, my photos from here on in don’t do any justice at all to the scale of the place, everything is all jumbo sized and so, so big.
The hall is one of the largest wooden structures in the world. As The Operator noticed it wasn’t going to catch fire anytime soon from a lightening strike as the structure was grounded in so many points by cables from roof to ground.
Rebuilt in 1709 after a, you guessed it, fire this building is 49m high, 57m wide and also has 113,000 roof tiles in case you wondered. Looking up under the eaves and the worn, weathered wood made of the thickest joists and bearers that I have seen, it was very impressive.
But wait till you step inside….mind blown in the gloomy light, right in front of you, sitting in profile is The Great Buddha (Daibutsu) her head nearly touching the ceiling of this giant space. Gone on, scroll back and look at the outside of this building and then picture the Buddha again, sitting inside with his head inches from the ceiling. Amazing.
The golden halo of her guardians shines behind her back and she looks so serene, old and dusty. Old she is, cast in bronze in 746AD she has weathered extremely well. Sitting at just over 15m high and weighing in at 500 tonnes, this Great Buddha is one of the biggest bronzes on the planet.
Rosie was a little surprised about the dustiness of The Buddha and the other statues in this temple…everything in Japan is pristine and perfect. Every other temple we have been in the relics are shiny, polished and glowing….these looked a little neglected in comparison. It seemed a real shame as these relics are so hugely impressive….maybe the size WAS the problem.
Behind the statue to the left is the Lord of Limitless Wisdom, one of Buddhas guardians. He too is enormous and fierce looking, totally and impressively carved out of wood.
This hole in the pillar that the children are squeezing through is exactly 50cm wide….this is the actual size of the Great Buddhas nostril. It is said if you can fit through the gap, those that do will reach enlightenment.
The Operator reckoned he could fit through the hole, what a shame there were 100 school kids lined up to have a go, would have loved to see this.
Because of the huge size of the hall it didnt seem to be a squeeze to walk around inside and get photos which was great. We even stopped and paused in the dry to consult where our next port of call was with no bother. Up into the gardens we forged, the rain was coming down a little heavier but it was still very warm and humid.
We climbed the lantern lined staircase to Nigatsu-do a national treasure rebuilt in 1669 (originally from c750). The verandah normally has sweeping views across the town, but today, the weather had closed the view in and it was very murky.
We could have ventured further into the park but at this point we opted to leave and get out of the now steady rain. Off to lunch we went in the Higashi-muki covered shopping mall. What a lovely lunch it was too. Tempura Vegetables and Prawns with a side of beef miso, rice, pickled vegetables and hand churned bean curd. Delicious at $12nzd each, what a great find.
Its now time to go and check into our AirBnB for the night. The Operator found it easy enough, not far from the Deer Park and it was a decent size too in comparison to Tokyo.
Shhhhhh the walls are so thin…..we can hear two other families in two different apartments. No shit, Rosie woke in the night and could hear the guy next door snoring…amazingly it woke up The Operator too, we were lying there giggling away….our giggling never woke the snorer though…pity.
Tomorrow we are off to the Japanese Rhine region – Inuyama. The weather looks set to clear and we will be taking it easy on the temples….Rosie and The Operator are getting a little templed out by now.
