Nara and the month that followed
Trip Start
Apr 28, 2004
1
3
4
Trip End
Ongoing
Nara, Ise and Nagoya,
Japan
Thursday, June 24, 2004
well mainly its one trick of flying awfully fast
many things keep me from adding to this little pod, I just happen to be one of those people that things occur to that prevent them from updating eg flat tyres, spilling coffee, falling asleep, losing keys....not terribly exciting things but they constantly delay me leaving myself just too lazy/frustrated to do other things like updates and learning japanese perhaps
anywho
so yeh Nara..
Another statue inside Todai-ji
.The once imperial capital of Japan lies sleepily at the base of the Wakakusa-yama hill and for such a place the old temples , pagodas and shrines that belie its history remain relatively well kept. This is partly due to them being embodied with a large natural park and the helpful aid of world heritage listing. The park is well known for the numerous deer that wander its broad pathways and they just happen to be Nara's city/prefectural emblem.
I was lucky enough to visit on a gloriously sunny day with my fellow NOVA compatriot, Pipster, and after walking dreamy eyed through the landscape for seven hours beating off thousands of japanese school kids on excursion and tourists we took a much earned beer ..or two.
If there is a main event of Nara sight-seeing it is most definitely the Todai-ji Temple.
Founded a wee while back in 745 it houses a big-ass Buddha if ive ever seen a big-ass Buddha. Standing 15m tall and placed on a pedestal within a 49m high wooden structure (yes the largest in the world) it packs some weight. I actually found the other statues in the temple more interesting as the late sunshine casted glowing rays over their intricately detailed features
Buddah!
. We also discovered that it is apparently good luck to crawl through this small hole that lies within one of the temples supporting beams. Unfortunately my luck bonus would have to wait as standing in line with a couple hundred schoolchildren and one fat tourist didn't strike me as a particularly appealing way to spend my afternoon.I did manage to get my fortune told at Kasuga Wakamiya which was jolly good, though i don't know how reliable drawing a chopstick shaped object out of a box is. One can't argue with these things though.
Ok enough on Nara..suffice to say it is well worth a visit and especially in different seasons as a photography museum we went to showed just how beautiful the trees/flowers are as the year progresses.
Two weeks later I made a trip to Ise, which lies about 40-50 mins to my south via train.
Notable for being the home of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess of Shinto religion, it gives rise to two large shrines (Geku/Outer and Naiku/Inner), which form the Grand Shrine of Ise, one of the most important in Japan.
I visited the Outer first, a short walk from the train stn
Fun and Games at Bazuka
. It was rather pretty with a wide area given over to a pond and flower garden which would have looked wonderful in Spring but now lay drooping in the humid summer air. I then did the 6km march to the Inner Shrine in ever threatening weather. The rain held off though and I managed to experience one of the most peaceful and simply beautiful places I have seen in Japan. Set within a forest of 800 yr old cedars next to a naked river snaking its way around pebbly waterbeds. Fish swam freely in the flowing currents and from vantage points at the water's edge or upon ancient wooden bridges within the shrine's grounds you could transport yourself back in time. At one magical stage I managed to escape the mass of Japanese tourists and find a quite bridge overlooking the forest and was alone except for my imagination and a travelling monk who merely added to the scene.Nearby the Inner shrine is a small set of streets and old buildings which date back from centuries old and where people still ply their trade selling seafood, rice cakes and candy to the passerbys. Very enjoyable to wander within this little haven.
I think I lived of the peacefulness I discovered at Ise for the next week or so which was a treat.
Which brings us up to today.
Yesterday I made a trip to Nagoya with Pip and Akiko to do some shopping and just reconnect with civilization for awhile. We didn't buy much but it was still good. It was excellent to stop at a french themed cafe with tea lights and ivy growing on the walls and taste real espresso coffee for the first time in ages even if it did cost $8 for a latte
Nara Greeting!
.We also went to RedRock which is an Aussie Bar and Grill and after meeting a few of the locals I tucked into a delicious surf an turf. After eating shitty, thin, fatty meat for 2 months a real piece of Aussie rump had me drooling. We even got to drink redbacks and coopers ($10 each!). Quite expensive but i think maybe I can allow myself the luxury once every two months perhaps.
I finished off the night with a trip to a new bar we have found. It has a great Uni crowd with plenty of pretty girls and the drinks are only 250 Yen ($3.50AUD) for beer or spirits which is crazy for Japan. The reason is because most of the staff are volunteers from the local University, looking for a bit of fun or any solution to perpetual boredom. Sounds fine to me!
Ok as for the job, yep still cruisin along. Kids classes still rock, except maybe its because i spend half the time just swinging em around my head and playing dodge then actually teaching...eh who cares a long as they are smiling. Adult classes are not doing too bad either with a few students getting leveled up lately which is very rewarding for them and us.
Until next time I manage to convince myself to sit down for an hour, I hope all is well and catchya soon.
Kino
