Nara Washington Hotel Plaza

... we arrived that Nara Park is full of deer! They are suprisingly tame, They walk right up and let you pet them and will walk with you under your umbrella when it's raining (which it was, constantly). They will also try to steal your umbrella. A buck took Dan's umbrella right off his suitcase. The giant buddha was just that, giant. <br><br>We took a bus from the Todaji Temple back to the train station. We had to go back to Osaka to catch ...

... and they have these hats that... well, for lack of a better word, it looks like they took their traditional Japanese tea cups, put a string on them, and tied it on to their foreheads! I didn't want to be rude, so I didn't get any pictures, but it was a bit comical looking. We continued down the road (or up, as it was) looking into shops and temples along the way, when one of the shop keepers hailed Kaoru, and by her answer, I knew he was asking where I ...

... pagoda - this one is Japan's second highest, only just beaten by To-ji that we saw yesterday. As it started to rain and all the walking around looking at the tallest, biggest, oldest things started to take it's toll we both fancied a KFC and we'd seen one by the station ... luckily we found Mos Burger, a japanese fine burger establishment, and we both munched on our terriaki sauce burgers safe in the knowledge we ...

On our day trip to Nara, we first stopped off at a Buddhist Temple. This was the same temple tour we've taken in other places, but the difference is that there are deer everywhere as tame as cats. When we arrived there was this woman that was just talking on her way up to the temple and never saw a deer creep up in front ...

... when I reached the temple, I had only 45 mins left to see the inside, because I had a plan to take a bus to go back to the station. Otherwise, I had to give up the next destination of that day. All in all, the temple was not so grand, but very beautiful, but it would have been more beautiful in autumn. The pagoda was Japan's shortest, 16m high, as built outside of the building, but the white and orenge tower was picturesque in the greenery when I saw it from ...

When I first arrived in Japan, I didn't realize just how big it is. Sure, it looks sort of big on a map, but its still dwarfed by its over sized neighbors, China and Russia. Japan may be smaller than those guys, but really, its a TARDIS. There are so many cities here that go unnoticed by travelers, because they are seen as boring small-towns. Boring? Small? Half of these places are bustling, buzzing and each have a unique atmosphere of their own and I am amazed and glad that we ...

... out of for who knows wh*t re*son, which involved folks sitting *round * gi*nt m*n m*de pool to c*tch koi with * rod; the weight of which would determine the *mount of mool*h you r*ke in th*t night. This, combined with the f*ct th*t every other corner w*s serving Os*k*'s delicious speci*lty dish, Octopus Dumplings, m*de for *n over*ll gre*t visit.<br><br>The following d*y w*s b*ck to temple-town, with * visit to the 'sm*ll' town of N*r*, which is home to * number of f*scin*ting n ...

... ter is good w*ter.<br><br>And now? Now, we *re in Kyoto. Ap*rt from Miy*jim* isl*nd, I c*n cert*inly s*y this is/will be my f*vorite pl*ce so f*r, even on the first d*y. This pl*ce h*s sophistic*tion, *tmosphere, but best of *ll, history. Within the first few blocks of Kyoto st*tion - which in itself is *n *ttr*ction - you could pick out * few sm*ll temples *nd shrines. Not to mention * gi*nt c*stle complex, which holds Nijo C*stle, built by the founder of the ...

... Luckily our friends Ian and Melissa volunteered their laundry room as storage while we were out having fun. It took two fully loaded taxis to move our bags and even though Lyndsay and I were physically exhausted before we even left our adoptive home town, there was no way we were going to allow our legs to let us down so early in the trip. The train ride to Seoul, and the flight to Osaka passed by like a dream. Lyndsay and I ...

... to call my buddy yuichiro. i kept getting this weird beeping signal after i inserted my calling card, so i decided to get the card back and just call him from my cell. let`s see. which button do i push. AH HAH! the good old red button. WHAM!!! this siren starts shrieking and the lights outisde the apartment building start flashing. i don`t wanna get in any kind of trouble so i don`t even think about the elevator. i run up the 105 stairs to my 8th ...