For Friday, November 4, 2011
Nara
It was warm and sunny. I rode the train for an hour to Nara, a small city near Kyoto that’s well known for several temples and about 1,200 wild deer that roam freely in the parks, streets, and walkways of the city. They’re accustomed to humans, so they’re not shy about coming up to you to see if you have food for them. If they smell it on you, they’ll follow you around and nip at your shirt until you give them what they want. I managed to take several pictures of the deer eating (yanking) out of my hand. After the deer and picked me clean of food, I walked to Todaiji and saw the largest Buddha statue in Japan. From there, I walked east to Nigatsu-do, which was perched on a hill and had an incredible view of Nara Park. I walked south to Kasuga-taisha, the Buddhist temple of many lanterns, both hanging and mounted. Everything was colored vermillion. Quite striking. Then I walked west to the Nara National Museum, which had lots of information and displays about Buddhist practices and items. I had no idea incense, and the sense of smell in general, plays such a big role in Buddhism. Afterward, I strolled through the park some more, snapping a few photos of the deer in an open grass field.
Kyoto
I returned to Kyoto by train and ate tempura for dinner with Chris (from Australia); Kenji (from Japan, who shared my dorm room); Carmen, Sam and Rob (all from England); Bob (an older man from Japan); and some annoying drunk guy who was from the Netherlands. The tempura was delicious, and afterward we all sang karaoke at a place Bob led us to. A couple days later, Chris and I wondered whether Bob was trying to make a commission off of us, but there was no way to tell. The English girls sang an exhilarating rendition of Earth Song by Michael Jackson. I noted the song name and bought it later. I think I’m becoming a fan of Michael Jackson.