Japan
is jam packed with places to visit, if you look hard enough something
old and fantastic is probably no more than a twenty minute leisurely
bike ride away. Kyoto is a perfect example of this, almost to the
extreme degree. But the lesser known, Nara is just as full of
beautiful, ancient places, most much much older than your standard
Kyoto fare.
Making
it to Nara is relatively easy if you're already visiting another
place in Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, etc.). It's around an hour's
train ride from Osaka (probably faster if you pay the extra cost of
hopping on an express) and maybe a bit more from Kyoto. I started
from KintetsuNara on the Kintetsu Line, but starting from Nara
Station on the JR Kansai Main Line doesn't really put you that far
off the mark.
The
walk through Nara Park up past Kofuku-ji (which is partly under
construction, boo!) is nice on a good day, but beware – once you've
purchased wafers to feed the deer in the park, good luck having any
peace. Pushy little buggers!
Todai-ji
is a must see, as it's complex houses the world's largest bronze
statue of Bhudda, and the entire complex, along with seven other
sites in the city, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Don't know what
a World Heritage Site is? Do yourself a favor before coming to Japan
and look it up. Japan is obsessed with them and very, very proud of
the sites in Japan that have received the designation.) You can see
quite a bit of the complex before having the pay the entrance fee to
the main hall (Y500), but it's worth the coin to get and wander
around.
I
recommend buying a bento and bringing it with you through Todai-ji
and the shrine's near by, and have a nice picnic lunch in one of the
lovely open shelters in Nara Park. I unfortunately got hungry when I
reached Tamukeyama Hachiman-gu Shrine and had to head back to find
food, after which the weather became absolutely miserable and I had
to call it a day. Major bummer. Don't make that mistake.
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