It was tough to get out of the warm, comfortable bed this morning, even though I knew that there would be a wonderful breakfast awaiting me at Inoue's home. For breakfast, I even tried nato, which is fermented soybeans. First, one adds a little mustard and soy sauce, then, mixes, mixes and mixes the fermented soybeans, which are coated in a gooey, sap-like substance. I tried several bites; but, nato is not my favorite food.
After breakfast, Chihiro, her parents and I toured the sites in Nara, the capital before Kyoto. Since legend has it that one of the gods arrived in Nara on a white deer, the shika deer are protected in Nara Park. Before we arrived, I was looking forward to purchasing deer crackers to feed the deer. However, upon arrival, the deer would come right up to us, without having any food in our hands. In fact, those who gave the deer crackers soon had a horde following them and nibbling at their jackets.
Soon, we had to take the train to Osaka to catch our flight back to Tokyo. Osaka was very bright and very loud. After the quiet tranquility of Nara, Osaka felt more cramped, crowded, over-lit, and loud than Vegas itself. However, it had it's own perks, namely takoyaki (octopus dumplings). We tried with sauce and mayonnaise and with salt. Then, it was off to the airport. We didn't have to take off our shoes. And, for those few who did, slippers were provided to walk through the security. Wishful thinking on my part that our US airports could be as courteous as Osaka airport!
On our return to Tokyo, I was able to experience my first real crowded train experience (although, really, not that bad, according to the locals. e.g. there were no pushers pushing us into the cars). This was the last train on a Friday night; and, it held both salarymen leaving work and those who had been partying all evening.
Our first stop was at Todai-ji, a Buddhist temple hosting a giant seated Buddha (Daibatsu). Built into the sides of the large gate the Todai-ji were two large, frightening, wooden statues. Their expressions were mouthing the first and last letter of the alphabet (a reference to covering everything from beginning to the end), protecting the main gate from everything. This is also where I was stopped by my first group of school children, intent on completing their field trip assignment of talking to an English speaker. We passed through the main gate and thru the secondary gate (all temple gates face south); and, we were standing in front of a breath-taking temple. Even though the current building is smaller than the original built in the 8th century, it is still one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. We entered the temple; and, almost the entire space was taken up by the giant bronze Buddha seated on lotus petals. In order to showcase the sheer size of the Buddha statue, there is a hole drilled through one of the wooden supporting posts of the temple. This hole is the size of the nostril of the Buddha; and, one can try to shimmy through it's narrow opening.
From Todai-ji, we walked stone lantern lined pathways. During special festivals, all of the lanterns are filled with candles; and, the four side openings are pasted over with paper. Our walk took us to a Shinto Shrine. There is a yearly fire festival here where a fiery torch is waved over the crowd from a second story balcony. The gathers early on the grass below in order to be close enough to have embers of this fire land on them, which brings good luck. The second story balcony offered a very picturesque view of Nara. Even the rest area in this shrine was unique, as it had self serve green tea, requesting tea drinkers to wash their glasses in the sink after use.
On our return to Tokyo, I was able to experience my first real crowded train experience (although, really, not that bad, according to the locals. e.g. there were no pushers pushing us into the cars). This was the last train on a Friday night; and, it held both salarymen leaving work and those who had been partying all evening.
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