Business Hotel Shindai Nara

... Japan. We both wished we had more time (and more money) to spend here as despite it being an expensive country to travel in, with not the most attractive of cities to explore, the food and the people made it a fantastic experience. The Japanese have turned out to be our favourite people so far. Despite the language barrier, without exception, everyone we encountered couldn’t have been more helpful, friendly and fun. We will definitely be back!

... of the most famous temples in all of Japan. It is made of wood and it is said to be the largest all wood building in the world. It also claims the largest buddha in the world, also made of wood. It definitely is spectacular. If you are into Buddhism and temples in general, it is a must see in Japan - even on a rain soaked day. The temple itself was awesome. All sorts of buddhas, statuettes, and gate guardians that impress you and ...

3 March 2009 So another day tour. This time of Kyoto and Nara. There were a couple of people getting on the bus at my hotel. Two french, late 20 somethings on honeymoon - Audrey and .....oh bollocks...I can't remember your husband's name. Anyway - was great to meet you - and practise the old french. Avoided the "Western" brekkie in new hotel. It really is ...well...too expensive. If I did this everywhere on the way around I'd be ...

... tame sika deer. They were really friendly and docile, kind of disconcerting at first as they are quite large animals, especially the stags, and if they think you have food they can get very excited. It was hilarious to watch the groups of schoolchildren buying the deer food, as the moment the deer knew they had food they would all crowd round to get it and I ...

The weather forecast issued storm warning for tonight and tomorrow so we decided to change our schedule and visit Nara before the rain. This proved a very wise choice now, at 4:30pm, when it started to make everything soaking wet. Oh, the train system in Japan! It is never late and always so frequent. From Kyoto to Nara is a mere 53 minutes' ride and departs every 3-4 minutes. Along the way, we really passed many people's backyards and I saw the other side of Japan: rural ...

... been able to actually visit a few of these places. They offer something the bigger cities don't. And that's, well, I guess... Awesome?<br><br>But first up is Osaka. Its not really a 'small town', In fact, it's the second largest city in Japan. If Tokyo is all bright lights, and Kyoto is all about sophistication, Osaka is about nightlife. Loud, Merry nightlife. Osaka is a Japanese Vegas. Yet it lacks the tackiness associated with Vegas and instead teams up with all things Asian ...

... l tre*sures *nd world herit*ge sites, most of which within the be*utiful N*r* P*rk. The town is *lso, like Miy*jim*, overrun by free ro*ming, docile deer who *re respected by the people of N*r* *nd considered messengers of the Shinto gods. I person*lly, consider them nothing more th*n tot*l dudes. One look *round the p*rk, however, *nd its not h*rd to see why the deer find the pl*ce so *ppe*ling. Despite its *we inspiring n*tur*l be*uty, forested regions home to trees liter*lly hundreds ...

... for two d*ys *nd spent the first d*y exploring Fukuok*: Which *ctu*lly only re*lly involved going to C*n*l City, * huge complex th*t h*s been n*med * 'city within * city'. It h*d ret*il stores from Gucci to Hello Kitty, Pokemon Centers, Hundreds of b*rs, * The*tre (Which w*s showing the Lion King music*l) *nd even Hotels. We ended up wondering *round *nd getting lost *nd eventu*lly found * Movie The*tre, *nd decided to go see Sweeney Todd. Lets just s*y, I ...

... wall paintings. It was so beautiful although you werent able to take pictures as a preservation method. However I bought a book which is filled with pictures from the inside. So much Gold leaf (kinpaku) was used to create all the wall paintings and it was so beautiful. As you walked around the floor boards all squeaked so no matter how softly you walked you could be heard. This was in order to keep spies (ninjas mostly) detered. From here we went to kiyomizu temple ...

... covers of SOD songs). Osaka is a weird city. Like I said before, it ain't much to look at, but something about it is infectious. Although it wasn't going to be hard for us to leave the Arrow, we were going to miss Osaka. It has a crazy energy to it. It's grimy and lived-in, sort of like Brooklyn, and the people are tough, proud, and friendly - sort of like the people in Brooklyn, except for the friendly part. But we had a whole country, or at least one little corner of a whole ...