I guess it's time for the last post on here, anyway. So here goes.
For my last full day, before I flew back, I decided to take a train from Osaka to Nara. I missed Nara the first time around, and it's thought of as being somewhere you HAVE to go when you are in Japan. This turned out to be true, and I'm glad I caught it (the Naruto whirlpools will just have to wait until next time, I guess).
Nara has a few main attractions, mostly clustered into the Nara-koen park area. The park is notable for two reason - firstly, it is huge, and secondly, it has a sizable population of sacred deer.
Within the park there are a whole bunch of both shrines and temples. I should probably point out the difference between the two, here - Buddhist places or worship are temples, Shinto are shrines. They often look similar, but Shinto shrines usually have one or more Torii gates at the entrance, which are simple structures with two cross bars and two vertical pillars. Buddhist temples, on the other hand, usually have much more substantial gate structures. The two are often on the same plot of land, however, so it is often difficult to tell them apart...
5-storey pagoda
Temple to which the pagoda is attached (I think) - not sure of the name, though
A few of the many deer in the park
I had my lunch here - note the Shinto shrine Torii gate in the background
A deer in the same stream
One of the major attractions (arguably THE main one, in fact) in Nara is the Daibutsuden hall at the Todai-ji temple, which is the world's largest wooden structure, and contains the world's largest indoor Buddha. This thing is SPECTACULAR.
One of the entrance gates to the Todai-ji temple
The Daibutsuden hall itself - undeniably an awesome sight
The Daibutsu Buddha inside the hall - each of it's fingers are about the size of a person
There are also a smattering of other temples and shrines, such as this one (name unknown)
Part of the beautiful (and very famous) Kasuga Taisha shrine
The shrine contains a huge number of lanterns, donated by various followers
...and with that, it comes to an end. I got back to Osaka, I packed my bags. I went for a huge blowout meal in a nice Yakiniku (Mongolian BBQ) restaurant. Then I got up at 5am the next morning, boarded a plane at Kansai airport, and here I am.
I'm sad to be back, without a doubt. This was made clear when I had to queue for about the first time in 3 months to RE-ENTER MY OWN COUNTRY. Wonderful.
But enough complaining. I will be back to Japan, hopefully sooner rather than later. I still have so many things to see and do, and things and people I want to see again.
James Bond will return in...
