Day 6 (Monday 11th Oct, 2010)

Today for a bit of a change of pace I went outside of Kyoto a bit, to a town called Nara.

It's about 40 mins south of Kyoto by train, and was Japan's first permanent capital in the 700s. (Prior to this, the capital had to move with the passing of every emperor, under Shinto law.)
It's famous for some temples and shrines, in particular the home of the "daibutsu" (giant buddha); and lots and lots of wild deer.

I left really early, and made the mistake of catching the "local" train, because I thought the expresses (there are about 4 levels of express train here) cost more. As it turns out, only the "Rapid Express" costs more, so I could have gotten on the regular express and saved myself a lot of time. Oh well, lesson learned.

I had a quick take-out "bento" meal from the station, then got a map from the tourist centre and headed out on my adventure.
Before long I started to see handcarts selling deer biscuits (shika-senbei) every hundred metres or so along the road, and I knew I was near what would be the highlight of this trip: lots and lots of cute little bambis everywhere to feed and pet!
I had a hearty laugh at the warning sign reminding tourists that the deer are in fact wild animals, and may attack/kick/butt/knock down visitors, complete with cartoon diagrams as is the Japanese standard.

I stopped outside the Nara Museum of Buddhist Art (didn't go in because of the entry fee) and spent about an hour just feeding and petting deer. Of course there were lots of Japanese families there with young children; they're really cute with the deer.
I finally decided I should move on because I have a lot more to see on this trip, and so I headed off to a temple called Todai-ji, home of the Great Buddha of Nara. Outside there were a lot more deer, running about on the streets and such; and I guess its mating season because I saw some having sex. Poor does though; the male deer really have no stamina at all. Like two thrusts and they're done.

I went inside the temple (this is one entry fee I'm willing to pay!), and was amazed by the sheer size of the main hall. It's the largest wooden building in the world.
I went inside, and I can't really describe how incredible it is to see this goliath. I've seen it many times before in photos, and seen replicas in video games; but to actually see the statue itself, live (for want of a better word) is an incredible experience. Anyone who comes to Japan has to come to Nara.
As well as the Buddha, there are a couple of other warrior-like statues inside; guardians I guess, and a 1:50 scale model of how the temple used to look before it was burned down. The current building, big as it is, is only 2/3s of the size of the original!

Most of the important sights of Nara are all located within Nara Koen, a very large park, so its very easy to follow the path and see everything. The path goes through a gorgeous forest, of course still with deer everywhere, and through an extensive shrine, called Kasuga Taisha. In the shrine I got to see people practicing horseback archery, from wooden horses; that was fairly amazing. They were shooting at a target about 15/20 metres away (depending on which horse); but in the actual contest they shoot at targets 300 metres away, from the backs of live horses moving at full gallop, with (ideally) 100% accuracy. Three arrows for three targets. I wish I was here to see that.

Towards the end of the route I went passed the Kofuki-ji temple, which is most famous for its five-story pagoda; the second highest in Japan, after To-ji in Kyoto, which is a few centimetres taller (I haven't been there yet, but I will.)
On the way back I went through the shopping area by Nara station; and I found a great little store called Geo Jeans. It has a bit of an op-shop feel to it, though everything there is new. I guess it's like an outlet store. I got a really nice pair of Lee jeans for ￥4095 (AUD$50), which are normally　￥15,500 (AUD$190). Good deal!

I also stopped in for a quick browse of a ￥100 store, and finally, I got interviewed!
I've heard a lot about this, and was looking forward to experiencing it.
Basically, in Japan, students start learning English from Junior High School. When these students see foreigners, they like to have the opportunity to practice their English.
He started by asking me if am from America (in Japan, every white person is American). Somehow we got onto movies, and he started on about how he really likes Harry Potter (good kid). "It goes without saying, Mr Daniel Radcliffe is very cool!". Daniel Radcliffe was always "Mr. Daniel Radcliffe"; Malfoy was "Mr. Malfoy" etc. "Mr. Hagrid's beard is much longer than yours." "Mr. Malfoy is very impudent."
I think "impudent" was his favourite English word.


I got on the train back to Kyoto (this time the express, aha!) and back at the hostel I meant some new visitors. Would you believe it, there was another New Zealand expat living in Prahran! His name is Michael, and he was here with his girlfriend and friend. We drank some gin, and sake, and then headed out to a nearby izakaya for dinner. I don't know the name of it, but the food was nice and the staff (and some customers) are incredibly loud and enthusiastic; it was great. We got quite drunk, and in some point in the proceedings he offered to try get me a job at his work (SunCorp, a call centre for insurance). Basically if I get hired on his recommendation and stay for 3 months, he gets $500 bonus; and the job itself pays at least $5,000 more a year than what I'm on. So I may have a new job lined up when I get back to Australia!

We got some more beer from a 7-Eleven on the way home, and drank them.
Good end to a good day.