Hotel Asyl Nara

... of the turtles. You know, the standard stuff. After almost catching several turtles, attracting a small army of onlookers, and hearing the word "gaijin" almost a billion times (it means outsider or foreigner. It's kind of like "gringo"), Aaron fished a turtle from the pond.<br> That goal satisfied, we headed to the park. Of the two attractions in Nara, we encountered the deer first. In what was once again one of those "it seemed pretty sensible ...

... of an ancient Chinese monk. Jo En had mentioned it was very rarely seen in public and actually had a portion of the monk's skull incased in the statue. A bit weird, if you ask me, but that's religion for you. As we left the exhibition, I realized I would really like to keep in touch with Jo En, and Kaoru and I decided (even though the temple was closing) to backtrack so I could give him my email address. He was at one of the huge prayer bells with ...

... iconography has basically merged with Shinto over time. It's funny how any new religion co-opts the indigenous religion for sustenance--i.e. Christianity and local pagan rites like Halloween.<br><br>The second highlight a the Buddhist one, Todaiji and the giant Buddha, Daibutsuzen. Todaiji is massive on a scale that I can't quite fathom, but I felt that it had more impact and statement than Kofukuji. The Buddha, which for me is rather nicely proportioned (not too ...

... there isn't much to say except for that is is definitely the place to be. We've seen some traditional Zen Gardens, which really are quite tranquil, and its all to easy to just sit there with your green tea and get lost in your thoughts. Today we saw Kinkaku-ji or the Golden Pavilion; another one of Japan's most iconic destinations. We also went to a temple, whose gardens feature in the movie Lost in Translation; the bit where Scarlett Johanson's character goes to Kyoto. I ...

... there. My fin*l word for this entry will be simply this; *lthough *ll the temples *nd shrines we visit *re spect*cul*r sites, I must s*y I grow quite w*ry of the J*p*nese tr*dition of removing ones shoes before entering such grounds. Not bec*use its * h*ssle *s such - *lthough my hiking shoes *re p*rticul*rly irrit*ting to do b*ck up *g*in - but bec*use *ll the s*nd*ls here seem like they were designed for leprech*uns to we*r *nd *bsolutely kill my gi*nt f*t-feet.<br><br>Until next time,<br>Tom out.<br>

... Shogun*te. Its dec*dently l*id out with gold-le*fed p*intings *nd wood c*rvings, *nd h*s wh*t *re c*lled 'Nighting*le Floors' which *re like *n *ncient house *l*rm system. The floorbo*rds *re so tightly bound together th*t they m*ke high pitched 'singing' sounds when stepped on, me*nt to w*rn the residents of *n intruder. Prob*bly m*de the trip for * secret midnight ice cre*m binge kind of tricky.<br><br>AND th*t is th*t, for now. Until l*ter,<br><br>R*ch*el Out.<br>

... two struck up a pleasant conversation, and it was obvious that our host was impressed with Lyndsay's skill. As we got out of the van we walked up a long driveway lined with massive conifers and a lush ground cover of bright green moss. It wasn't long before we were mobbed by perky Japanese school kids in matching uniforms, all eager to practice their English, and happily snapping photos of us while saluting the camera with ...

... see the size of Martin's feet! At an English size 14 there was no way they had any for him! With their very broken English we were told that check-in wasn't until 4pm. That was fine we just left our bags in reception and went for a walk into Nara. We found a café for coffee and cake and the man there spoke very good English so we asked him if there was somewhere for us to rent bicycles. He was extremely helpful and even walked us over the road to where we ...

... favourite with the locals and there were always heaps of people about. I was lucky enough to be there during the main cherry tree blossom session that only lasts for a couple of weeks. I spent a few nights here during the Hanami, which is where the park fills up with revellers, who again set up picnics and drinks loads of beer and rice wine ...

... the job! He w*s so excited *nd *lmost jumping *round *nd just *s he w*s *bout to run out the door in r*n Ann* from Sweden who h*d found my p*ck in her room. She h*d lost my em*il *ddress *nd h*d guessed *nd followed my n*me to e*ch hostel *long the tr*il we h*d t*lking *bout following depending on where we were to meet up next. She even went to Aw* Iked* *nd we both beg*n yelling excitingly *bout the ...