Nara

While Greg & Laura were enjoying their tour of Kyoto, Joe and I decided to see a new city while in mainland.  We went to the very, very old capital of Japan, Nara.

Nara was about a 40 minute express-train ride from Kyoto Station.

Family usually asks what our Japanese tickets look like.  This was actually the ticket returning to Kyoto.

When we got off the train and started our walk, we were immediately met by the sacred Nara deer.  There were more deer here, than I think there were in Hiroshima.  These deer were also a little smarter, because the locals sold deer food to tourists..... there'll be some videos of that later!

The "tour" we took of Nara was one large loop, starting at the station.  We walked to this large park area (where the deer generally are) to visit: Isuien Garden, Yoshiki-en Garden, Todai-ji (Great Buddha Hall), and two other places I can't recall the name of right now, since my tour books have been shipped home.  It will come back to me soon.....

While waiting for Isuien Garden to open, we came across Yoshiki-en Garden.  This was a stunning walk in the early morning. 

"standard" garden

Moss Garden

Isuien Garden did not disappoint.  It was beautiful!  Of course, we took a ton of photos; I'll try to select just a few.
 

 

Next, we were off to Todai-ji, the largest wooden building in the world, houseing the world's largest Buddha.

Guard gate

One of two guardians inside the gate

Todai-ji

the great Buddha

Our next stop was Nigatsu-do, another Buddhist temple.  This temple didn't have a large buddha, but a beautiful view.

The walking in between temples and sights was just as lovely.  We saw more deer, a newly married couple, school kids on tours and beautiful scenery.

The next sight was Kasuga-taisha (Shinto shrine).  This shrine was beautiful and unique because of the many, many lanterns.  I think our tour book said that there were over 3,000.

Wisteria within the shrine

Our day in Nara was nearly finished after this shrine.  It was time to head back to the station area for lunch.  On the way, we passed one last sight, Kofuku-ji, another Buddhist temple.  

Very friendly deer

 We enjoyed a udon lunch at a local restaurant -- it was actually the first time we were in a restaurant that only served udon.  I can't believe it took us so long!   I had a more traditional hot udon soup with tempura.  Joe had a "newer" style where you dip the udon into a more concentrataed broth.  Both were delicious!

My lunch

Joe's lunch

You can see the guy making the noodles in the shop -- fresh udon was great!

Before I forget, here's the video of the deer in Nara.  It really is funny that the foreign (and maybe local) visitors think that the deer are going to wait in an orderly fashion for their snack!

Greg & Laura in Kyoto

Later that day we all arrived in Kyoto.  Our first order of business was to find some ramen...... this was a great success!

Our full day in Kyoto was quite different from our time in Hiroshima.  Joe and I had visited Kyoto in December with my parents, and took a full day sight-seeing tour.  We sent Laura & Greg on this tour and Joe and I went to Nara (they really old capital of Japan).  But that post will come later!

We met up with Laura & Greg at the end of their tour at Kiyomizu-dera temple and then walked to Pontocho for dinner.

As it turns out, Kiyomizu-dera is just as beautiful in the fall as it is in the spring!

On the way to dinner, we walked through Matsubara dori, a charming street filled with shops, restaurants and a cozy feeling in Japan.

Our second day in Kyoto was a half day, as we needed to get to Tokyo.  We had one last morning excursion in Kyoto - a walk on the Philosopher's Path and a tour of Ginkaku-ji temple.  Joe had walked the Philosopher's Path last December by himself; my father and I joined him for a part of it.  It was really wonderful to walk the entire path.

At the end of the path was Ginkaku-ji.  A lovely temple surrounded by even lovelier gardens.

A beautiful, but unusual rock garden.

While waiting for Joe, Laura & Greg to finish the tour route, I was befriended by a group of Japanese junior high students.  Their teacher tried to explain that they wanted to practice their English with me.  They got out their notebooks and each took a turn asking me questions about where I was from, did I like Japan, what foods I liked and where we were going.  It was fun!

Greg & Laura in Hiroshima

Our next stop with Laura & Greg was Hiroshima.  This of course, was a repeat for Joe and I - but a very happy repeat!!!  Hiroshima was just as beautiful in spring as it was in the fall.  We had forgotten the many shades of green that exist.  (Okinawa has one color of green - jungle!)  We only had about 24 hours in Hiroshima, so we sent Laura & Greg to the Memorial & Museum, while we went to eat Hiroshima-yaki and then sake and sashimi from the Seto Inland Sea.

The next day we went to Miyajima Island.  This brought back many wonderful memories and Joe and I wandered around.  The large torii gate at Itsukushima (shinto) shrine had undergone some damage in a storm, so it was covered.

In the early morning, the tide was low, so were were able to walk out to the shrine.  

We then sent Greg & Laura off on their own, to hike Mt. Misen and enjoy Miyajima.

Joe and I returned to one of our favorite parks......

....and enjoyed some of Miyajima's food!  This was a steamed bun with conger eel.

My favorite was the deep-fried Momiji-manju!  

Joe and I met Laura & Greg as they were going through Itsukushima shrine.

After that, we headed back to Hiroshima to take the Shinkansen to Kyoto!