Japan Part II: Nara

 We decided to go to Nara for a day, the former former capital of Japan (710 - 784, The Nara Period). Besides the temples and heritage sites, Nara also has some interesting wildlife. Like, the very friendly deer.

There is a legend that a god rode in to protect the new capitol of Nara on a white deer. Since then, deer have been regarded as the heavenly protectors of the country, and are allowed to roam freely around the city.

I wanted to pet one but was afraid they would bite off my fingers. Silly me, Nara deer don't eat fingers. Nara deer eat only special Nara deer cookies.

I'm pretty sure the deer live off of cookies alone. Just like me in college.

As the sign warns, be careful.

"The deer of Nara are wild animals. They can occasionally attack people, so please be careful."

We saw several small children getting chased by hungry deer.

Nara was beautiful, for the forests as much as the temples and shrine. We took the walking tour of the city, which took us about 4 or 5 hours.

We went to Todai-ji first, a Buddhist temple which has the distinction of being both the largest wooden building in the world and holding the largest statue of the Buddha in the world.

The main hall of Todai-ji.

Surrounding the Buddha are two large guardian statues. They look pretty intimidating. Here is one of them.

Here is the statue of the Buddha, or in Japanese, "Daibutsu" (Which I'm pretty sure translates to "big Buddha").

It was very big.

Inside the temple, we saw a long line of children with their parents. At first, we thought it was something special for Children's Day. But, actually, it is related to a temple tradition.

There is a hole in one of the temple's support beams that is said to be as large as the Daibutsu's nostril. If you can squeeze through the hole, it is said you are guaranteed enlightenment in your next life.

Small Japanese kids. Lucky.

In practice, this means a lot of children will be granted enlightenment in their next life.

Afterward, we walked to Nigatsu-do, a smaller, neighboring Buddhist temple. It was very pretty.

Before coming to Japan, this was how I pictured everything in the Japanese countryside.

Then, we walked through the Katsugayama Primeval Forest. There are stone lanterns all along the trail. I wish we'd been there at night, as it looks like they still light some of them up.

Japan's temples and shrines give the feeling of being in harmony with nature. Perhaps this is the Shinto influence in the culture? All in all, I think Nara was my favorite of the cities we visited. It was definitely the most beautiful.