Daytrip to Nara

Getting going

We woke around 0500 but lay till 0600 before slowly getting ready for breakfast downstairs at 0700.  At 0700 the concertina doors folded back to reveal the coffee and drinks machines, sushi, bakery items, ovens, salad, fruit and cereal.  There was also a fridge with milk and what I thought was the world’s best yoghurt.  It was smooth, light and just very delicately sweetened.

The bread rolls were delightfully light and pre-split so they come apart neatly when you pull on them.  That’s Japanese attention to detail.

For a bit of amusement, I noticed the paper cups had a picture of a bird flying.  It was captioned “Birds fling delightfully”.

Rodger and Liisa joined us around 0730 to fuel up before we walked to the Kintetsu Namba station for the train to Nara.

Sightseeing in Nara

Sights in Nara were fortunately close to the railway station.  We wanted to get to Todaiji, the temple which housed the big Buddha.  It was located in Nara park along with other temples, pagodas, shrine and sites.

The park was pleasant with some beautiful deers which weren’t afraid of the visitors.  We found the Kofukuji temple with with its five-storeyed pagoda.  At 50m, it is the second tallest wooden pagoda in the country.

We called into the Kofukuji National Treasure Museum which was dedicated to Buddhist arts.  There were many historic statues of Buddha in his various forms.  The old wing was linked to the new via an underground complex of cafe and shops.

Leaving, we walked through a whole lane of hawkers selling yummy food.  But we avoided them as we weren’t ready for lunch yet.

We made our way to Todaiji.  At the gate were a couple of nicely-carved figures but netting to deter birds made them unworthy of photos.  The inside of the temple, yes, had a big Buddha.  I’ve seen a few of them in my time … I’m Asian!

We grabbed lunch in the park with the deers.  Kim and I shared a takoyaki, sausage and okonomiyaki.  In view of the hot weather, an ice-cream was the perfect dessert.+

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Re-energised, we walked uphill to Kasuga-taisha Shrine.  The walked was lined with hundreds of stone lanterns.  At the temple, several couples were having their babies blessed.  It seemed to be a special occasion as mum and grandma were dressed up smartly in kimonos.  It was very picturesque with the wisteria tress and lanterns.

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In the evening

We walked back to the station to catch a train back to Namba.  We reached our rooms around 1600 and were ready for a rest.

It was back to Cui Daore for dinner.  This time it was a beef curry noodle soup, tempura and a dessert of two little bowls of hot red bean soup with little rice balls.  It had been a long and hot day!  Not bad for the first day after arrival.

Japanese design, taste and refinement

Everything seems to be thoughtfully designed.  Our hotel room door doesn’t slam but it closes gently before clicking shut.  The toilet seat and lid were both soft-closing.

This morning’s yoghurt at breakfast was light, smooth and delicately sweetened.  The Sangaria brand of drinks here are lightly sweetened.  Perfect for my tastebuds.

And the vending machines have very smooth movements.  You can open a can of Coke straight from the machine without having to wait!  Now I know why some Japanese students I’ve met in New Zealand seem a little dippy or careless with these things.  It’s because in Japan, those daily precautions aren’t necessary!