Nara (or Deertown)

We were off earlier this morning to catch a train from Kyoto to Nara.  It’s essentially a suburb of Kyoto, but is about an hour away by local train.  We made our way via subway to the train station and  stood at the triangle spot on the pavement (yep, things are very organized) to board the train.

We arrived and took taxis to our first stop.  By the way, it’s raining today and didn’t stop all day long.  But you make the best of it.

On the way, we came across all these deer.  They’re not kidding when they post this sign!  

They were everywhere!  I thought initially it was some kind of zoo where the deer roam free, but no, they’re all over the place!  We learned from our guide that the deer are believed to be divine messengers (there’s a whole story about that).

So there are rules about deer.  You don’t hit or chase them.

You don’t let your dog go after them.

But you have to be careful because they could bite, kick, butt or knock you down.

Notice how the deer are in white and the person is the black, evil one.

We see groups of young children all wearing the same brightly coloured hat in various places we go.  It’s so the teacher(s) can find and identify them.

Our first stop was the Todaiji Temple.  It is the largest wooden building in the world, despite the fact that it is 2/3 it’s original size.  Some reconstruction has taken place since 752, the date of it’s original construction.

And there’s the great Buddha inside, 15 metres tall.

The main gate is even huge - an old wooden structure.

And of course the deer hang out here too.

After we were finished here, we had lunch at a little spot within walking distance.  And our obligatory daily beer, of course.

Next we went by taxi to Katsura Trisha Shrine.  The shrine is most famous for its lanterns which are only lit twice a year.  There are hundreds, or perhaps a thousand of them...in stone and in bronze.

 

And of course, the deer are here too.

When we were done here, we caught taxis back to the train station, and back to Kyoto.  This is inside the Kyoto train station.  Quite an impressive modern building.

And just outside is the Kyoto tower.

  

We decided to depart from the standard group dinner tonight as we wanted to go to a Japanese art stage show in Gion Corner (where the geishas were).  We went off with Dan and Joanne to do that, then found some dinner afterward.

There were 7 distinct art forms presented.  First was the Tea Ceremony.

After that got going, we had Koto Zither playing.

Then Flower arranging.

All of that took a total of 10 minutes.  Then it was the Gagaku Court Music and dance.

 

The Kyogen Theatre was next - essentially a comedy act.

Then the Kyo-mai Dance performed by a “geisha in training”.

And finally the Bunraku Puppet Theatre, which I didn’t get a picture of.  The whole thing lasted less than an hour, but it was something different to see.

We found a place just down the street for dinner and caught a cab back to our hotel.