May 16, Monday
After breakfast we went a tour to Nara and Fushimi. The city of Nara was the capital of Japan before Kyoto. We first visited Todaiji Temple, stopping to explore its expansive grounds. There we met Nara's famous residents -- It's free-roaming deer. The deer approach you for food and may even bow in their request for food. You can buy a package of crackers for them for about ¥150. I bought the crackers and so many deer approached me that I couldn't hand out the food fast enough and one bit my left index finger drawing blood. Luckily someone in our group had a small package of neosporin and I have bandages with me.
At Todaiji we also explored Daibutsu-den Hall. ,The Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden) has been rebuilt twice after fire. The current building was finished in 1709, and although immense—57 metres (187 ft) long and 50 metres (160 ft) wide—it is actually 30% smaller than its predecessor. Until 1998, it was the world's largest wooden building. TheGreat (Vairocana) Buddha is 52' tall, and is made of bronze which was then plated with gold. The statue was consecrated in 752, but was damaged and repaired several times in the following centuries.
Later we went to Kasuga Shinto Shrine which dates back to 768AD. We walked along the wooded paths of Kasuga, to admire the many sub-shrines, along with its astonishing collection of 3,000 stone lanterns.
After lunch of tempura and udon, we continued to the lovely town of Fushimi, home of one of Japan's most famous shrines: Fushsimi-Inari. The Fushsimi-Inari Shrine was dedicated to the gods of rice and sake in the 8th century, but today it is know for its 10,000 red torii gates, which cover the trails that wind up Mount Inari.
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