Day 3: Nara

Nara was the capital of Japan from its founding until 794, when the capital was moved to Kyoto. The prime draw is Nara Park, a few square kilometers of temples, shrines, and ancient statuary. Inhabiting the park are throngs of filthy, tourist-assimilated deer that snatch purses and harrass picknicking families. Incidentally, they are sacred to the Shinto priests who inhabit the park, and I happened to arrive just in time for Shika-no-Tsunokiri--the annual antler cutting ceremony. I didn't attend however, as the piercing shrieks of the animals were enough to keep me away, in addition to the two-hour wait to "get in." See, the monks have capitalized on the tourism potential and erected a mini-stadium in which the wrestle deer to the dirt and take to their antlers with hacksaws. I saw a couple of post-ritual deer, and they did not look too happy, not to mention the strange stumps jutting from their foreheads.

My first stop was at the mid-7th century temple Kofuku-ji. The real attraction here is the statuary (dating from the same period), but alas, it was inside the temple buildings, and photography was prohibited--as in most treasuries of statuary in Nara, unfortunately.





At Kofuku-ji, I met a Naranese artist on his way to offer prayers to the family god, Wakamiya, at the Shinto shrine Kasuga Taisha. We talked (in Japanese!) on the way, and he showed me some photos of his speciality--tattoos of Kabuki figures on forearms. (Mom: I was tempted, but fear not, I resisted the urge.) We chatted all the way to Kasuga, where he showed me some of the Shinto prayer rituals.





From the shrine, I started walking to the next temple when it started pouring, Just as I passed an ominous mini-shrine...

...the cheap-ass bootleg flip-flops I purchased on the street in the Dominican Republic tore. I don't mean snapped, I don't mean came apart; I literally mean tore. The sole just ripped right down the middle. I had to walk one-sandaled in the pouring rain to the closest bus stop--half a km away--and take the bus to the nearest dollar store. (My shoes were in my backpack in a coinlocker in the Kyoto train station.) Of course, shoes in Japan don't usually run any larger than US9--10 if you're lucky--and being the proud wearer of size 13s, I had to make do in these ridiculous things from the 100 yen shop:

From there, I went back to Nara Park, where I visited Shin-Yakushi-ji temple, built in the mid-8th century by the Empress of Japan. Nothing too exciting from the outside here, but bear in mind it's all original 8th century. Inside was an outstanding collection of lifesize statues of Buddhist and mythological demons, but again, no pictures allowed. One of the buildings here offered a traditional lunch in a traditional setting--yudofu: tofu boiled with seaweed, everybody's favorite (mine!).





From there, I walked across the length of Nara Park...



...and arrived at Nara's prime attraction, Todai-ji, a gigantic mid-8th century temple (or rather, complex of dozens of temples) and home of the largest bronze statue in Japan, the 15 m high Cosmic Buddha--Daibutsu.





The Daibutsu might not look so spectacular as a photograph, but keep in mind it's 5 stories high:





In back of the Daibutsu is a wooden pillar with a small opening. Legend has it that if you are able to squeeze through, a spot will be reserved for you in heaven. Sizism, I say! Only children are really able to make it through.

From there I explored the rest of the temple grounds, which is really a couple of square kilometers and took a couple of hours.