Nara

Golden week is over and I'm back to teaching. It was a lot of fun, but its nice to get back into a routine again.

Here are some pictures from my trip to Nara. Nara was the first capital of Japan. But only about 100 years it was then moved to Kyoto (also close by), then it was finally moved to Tokyo (booooo). If you don't know there is a huge rivalry between people from Tokyo (Kanto) and people from Kansai (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara). Of course I think Kansai is much better. Kansai is know for its great food, friendly and funny people, and historical treasures. Tokyo is known for its prestigious companies and colleges, stuck up people, and Disney world.

Here is me and my friend Shawn in Nara. Shawn was born and raised in New York, and he now lives in a town of 18,000 in north Japan. Its safe to say he's experiencing a little more culture shock than me.


This is one of the protectors of the Temple.
It was a holiday, so it was really crowded. Shawn and I keep looking at each other and saying "Geez, where did all these Asians come from."


This is a model of Todaji. Its the building in the middle. Its the largest wooden building in the entire world. Inside of it is a iron Budda statue that I would guess is about 6 stories tall. Also to the right you can see 2 pagoda's (The multi-level temple things). These are no longer standing, but when they were built in the 700's they were the tallest man made structures behind the pyramids. I thought that was really cool, as it showed that ancient Japan was technologically just as advanced as anyone.

This is a hole cut out of a pillar. One thing to keep in mind, the hole in this pillar is the same size as the nostril on the nose of the Budda. Kids try to walk thru this hole for good luck.

So here it is, Dabatsu (I just call it the big budda). This was made in the 700's by Buddhist monks. Its hard to get a feel from this picture of just how huge this thing is. Notice that it almost reaches to top of the building, so later when I've posted the full view of the building, you'll get a better feel of the size.

Here is me in front of it.

A look on the outside of Todaji (the building that houses Dabatsu).

A full view of Todaji. The largest wooden building in the world.

Thought this dragon was cool.

Deer roam free thru the streets of Nara. It took all the patience I had not to grab a gun and try to kill one.

Shawn trying to punch a deer, which then just smelled his fist looking for food.

This was another pagoda, I don't remember the name of it... Its the oldest wooden structure in the world.



A nice pond in the middle of Nara...


This was a graveyard I found in Kyoto, just thought it looked neat.
Tomb of the Unknown soldier in Kyoto. It was closed so I couldn't go in. I prob wouldn't have gone in anyway though...



A video I took of some guys making some biscuit looking things.



All in all I'd say that Nara and Todaji is probably the coolest thing I've seen since I got to Japan. If anyone makes a trip to Japan, Nara has to be on the top of your list.