Too many candles on this cake I'm afraid, as the city of Nara is about to celebrate its 1300th anniversary of being declared the first capital of a united Japan. Apparently it didn't work out, but nonetheless it's been well preserved and features narrow streets and jumbled olde-worlde-looking houses like a tourist brochure.
And tourists there are, by the tens of thousands, but thanks to jet lag I managed to get up and out very early and saw the famous 15 metre tall 8th century buddha, housed in the largest wooden building in the world, with only two other visitors in the whole place. It was pretty impressive, I have to say. (I passed by later and couldn't begin to count the number of people in the hordes waiting outside, and felt smug).
Tip: If you ever visit Nara, and I highly recommend you do, watch out for the sacred deer roaming the temple complex, they'll chase after you and eat any food you happen to have left somewhere careless, like in your hand.
A shortish hike through the grandly named Kasuga-yama Primeval Forest to the stunning mountaintop view (complete with vending machines), then back down and poking through random shrines and five-storey pagodas before negotiating the labyrinth back to my lovely, medieval-looking inn where I will now open the sliding door to my tiny medieval balcony and rest my tired, tired feet.
No comments:
Post a Comment