1200 deer in Nara
Monday 2004-11-15
It rained all night, but stopped by mid-morning. I took the express train to Nara, which is about 40 minutes away. Nara was the capital of Japan before Kyoto and has some beautiful temples and a wonderful park. Several of the sites in Nara are designated as World Heritage sites. Everything is easily within walking distance. I visited the Kofuku-ji Temple and 5 story Pagoda. Then I headed for the Kasuga Taisha Shrine. In order to get there I had to go through the park. It's just beautiful. There are 1200 free-roaming deer in the park. The Japanese believe the deer are messengers from the gods. Along the walkways near the shrine are 2000 stone lanterns. They light them all twice a year. That must be very beautiful. As I was taking photos near the shrine I met a very nice Japanese man. I think his name was Yo. We talked for about 20 minutes. He told me some history and facts about the shrine. By now it was starting to get dark. We said goodbye and parted company. There is more to see in Nara than I thought and I didn't get to it today. Maybe I'll come back later this week?