May
11, Friday
Lots of agricultural land wherever there is open space that can be used.
Houses look a lot like ours, minus the basements of course.
Apart from driving on the other side of the road, their highways look like ours as well. ETC stands for Electronic Toll Card; you don't even need to stop when you get to the toll if you have one of these cards, the electronic eye will automatically capture the data.
The fields are either already green, or recently plowed and sowed.
Seven Eleven shops are everywhere, but this shot was to show you the typical small Japanese cars
Japan is approximately the size of California. I did not know that ! It is divided into 47 prefectures (states /provinces). Only in the last 100 years have last names been used; prior to that, only the elite class used last names. The price of rice is controlled by the Japanese Government and quotas are established (something like milk production in Canada). Japanese economy took a plunge during the past decade, and many auto plants closed down (just like in Canada and the USA). Their economy was too closely tied to that of the United States. Nissan has now partnered with Renault auto makers and are doing better now.
We see a lot of agricultural fields along the way: green tea plants covered in black mesh to protect from the sun’s rays, Bonsai’ed fig trees. We are told that bamboo shoots are kept covered with earth mounds to keep them tender, just like asparagus plants.
We arrive in Nara and it appears to be a very quiet town. We drive on to Nara Park and there are deer walking around everywhere. With loads of school kids around feeding them all day (special cookies that you buy on site) they are fairly docile.
I actually like the natural look a lot better. Check out all the student groups coming through !
Rafter details of entrance gates
And a giant guard within the gates, protected by a screen. He is fierce looking.
We make our way to the main building which contains the Buddha. This is the biggest building I've seen yet in Japan, it is HUGE ! and we are told that this is a reconstruction since the original building burned down and this one is not as big as the original.
Looks like a regular size building? NOT. Take a close look at the tiny people in front of it.
IT IS HUGE !
“Todai-ji Temple was built in the Nara period (710-794 AD); it serves both as a place of prayer for peace and affluence on earth, as well as a center of Buddhist doctrinal research. The statue of the Great Buddha is made from cast bronze, which was then plated with gold. It was damaged and repaired many times in the following centuries. The current hands of the statue were made in the Momoyama period 1568–1615. The head was made in the Edo period, 1615-1867. The original Great Buddha Hall was burned in the fires of war in 1180 and again in 1567; the current building is the 3rd generation structure, built in the Edo period. The width of the current building is approximately 33% smaller than the original, but still ranks as the largest wooden structure in the world.”
The bronze lantern is 4.62 meters high. (that includes the stand). Everything is built as if it is for the use
of giants !
We enter the building and there sits the GREAT BUDDHA. I am awed !
and surrounding him on the back piece (gold leaf throne) are all these smaller Buddha figures.
Even the "throne" behind him is a huge slab. The back of it was completely decorated as well, but too dark to photograph without a flash.
In this shot, you get a glimpse of the construction of the building housing the Buddha
I can't get enough of this statue. Every detail is beautifully detailed
The great Buddha statue is just short of 15 meters in height; its head is 5.41 meters high, length of ears 2.54 meters and width of eye 1.02 meters. It is the most impressive Buddha statue I have ever seen. Each time I think ‘I don’t want to visit yet another Buddhist temple’,something like this happens and I realize I have to keep going to visit them, because you never know what treasure you will find there.
Two of the lotus petals that form the base of the great Buddha
The lotus petals on which the great Buddha sits date back to the 8th century, the Nara Period. The lotus petals are just over 3 meters each in width. The detailed hairline engravings on each petal is a work of art all by itself.
We are able to walk completely around the Buddha, as well as the two gold statues flanking it, to see the detailed carvings on the side and back of the throne like structure.
Gold leaf statues flanking the Great Buddha
The two wooden guards; they are giant size as well
and look fierce. But check out the details, all carved in wood. Every inch is intricately carved.
Coming out of the Great Buddha Hall, looking out at the inner courtyard and the 2nd gate.
These are the doors to the Great Buddha Hall, and a look at the roof eaves and rafters
It is a beautiful building. We can see some of the original colouring under the eaves
The incence burner under the second set of gates
There is a small lake on the grounds of the temple
and it loops around past the second set of "painted" gates
leading me back to the first set of unpainted gates
I spot a map of the area near the bus, and realize that we are only a short distance away from our next site, Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Both the temple and the shrine are located within Nara Park.
But we still have to take the bus to get to the second site.
And up through another set of Torri gates
with the proverbial barrels of Sake. This is our guide for the afternoon. She was a fountain of information.
Detail on one of the Sake barrels
My grey hair is blending in beautifully with the grey stone lanterns !
And there are deer in this park as well; even peaking out from between some stone lanterns
We reach the entrance gates to the inner courtyard
and all the lanterns in front of it
as well as inside it. All sorts of lanterns everywhere
The attendants at the Shrine wear whisteria head pieces
because of all the whisteria hanging from an arbor in the courtyard
I take a peak through some bars into the other courtyard and find..... more lanterns !
As we walk back out of the grounds, I spot a lantern with a deer on it. How appropriate.
As we drive away from the site, I spot more deer in the park.
Kind of out of focus since we are driving by fairly fast, but a very peaceful setting.
and with the lake nearby it simply adds to the tranquility of this park in Nara.
As we go back into Nara city itself, I spot this high rise parking enclosure. But this one is for BICYCLES ! I seem to remember seeing something like this on Amazing Race, where they had to find a specific bicycle to use for their next leg of the race.
Nara traffic jam !
As we near Kyoto, we reach an intersection of lots of major highways.
and yet every piece of land that is not being used for industrial or residencial purposes is used for agriculture. The Japanese may be limited in the amount of land they have, but they make every use possible of it.
On the ride back to Kyoto, I learned to count in Japanese: (phonetically) 1 = eechee (ichi), 2 = nee (ni), 3 = san, 4 = shee (shi), 5 = go; but our guide this afternoon gave us these words to help us remember how to count: “itchy knee sun she go”. That’s going to stay with me for awhile.
Today I had two options:
either get up early on my own, take the metro to the train station and
from there take the train to Nara and visit on my own, OR....
take a booked excursion for the afternoon with a tour bus. When I wake up it is another gloomy day so I
end up sleeping off and on the entire morning and taking the afternoon
excursion instead. I make my way to the
pick-up point at a hotel a long walk away.
I leave my hotel at about noon and slowly walk over to the designated
hotel, stopping on the way for coffee.
The bus ride to Nara is about 45 minutes due to traffic. Our lady guide provides information the
entire way and I’m one of the rare people paying attention. Most people are asleep on the bus !
Houses look a lot like ours, minus the basements of course.
Apart from driving on the other side of the road, their highways look like ours as well. ETC stands for Electronic Toll Card; you don't even need to stop when you get to the toll if you have one of these cards, the electronic eye will automatically capture the data.
The fields are either already green, or recently plowed and sowed.
Seven Eleven shops are everywhere, but this shot was to show you the typical small Japanese cars
Japan is approximately the size of California. I did not know that ! It is divided into 47 prefectures (states /provinces). Only in the last 100 years have last names been used; prior to that, only the elite class used last names. The price of rice is controlled by the Japanese Government and quotas are established (something like milk production in Canada). Japanese economy took a plunge during the past decade, and many auto plants closed down (just like in Canada and the USA). Their economy was too closely tied to that of the United States. Nissan has now partnered with Renault auto makers and are doing better now.
We see a lot of agricultural fields along the way: green tea plants covered in black mesh to protect from the sun’s rays, Bonsai’ed fig trees. We are told that bamboo shoots are kept covered with earth mounds to keep them tender, just like asparagus plants.
We arrive in Nara and it appears to be a very quiet town. We drive on to Nara Park and there are deer walking around everywhere. With loads of school kids around feeding them all day (special cookies that you buy on site) they are fairly docile.
Our first stop is to Todaiji Temple, where there is a GREAT
Buddha. The grounds are extensive and
full of student groups. As we pass the
entrance gates, I notice that these are rare ones that have not been repainted
yet. It is nice to see what they would
normally look like.
Rafter details of entrance gates
And a giant guard within the gates, protected by a screen. He is fierce looking.
We make our way to the main building which contains the Buddha. This is the biggest building I've seen yet in Japan, it is HUGE ! and we are told that this is a reconstruction since the original building burned down and this one is not as big as the original.
IT IS HUGE !
“Todai-ji Temple was built in the Nara period (710-794 AD); it serves both as a place of prayer for peace and affluence on earth, as well as a center of Buddhist doctrinal research. The statue of the Great Buddha is made from cast bronze, which was then plated with gold. It was damaged and repaired many times in the following centuries. The current hands of the statue were made in the Momoyama period 1568–1615. The head was made in the Edo period, 1615-1867. The original Great Buddha Hall was burned in the fires of war in 1180 and again in 1567; the current building is the 3rd generation structure, built in the Edo period. The width of the current building is approximately 33% smaller than the original, but still ranks as the largest wooden structure in the world.”
We enter the building and there sits the GREAT BUDDHA. I am awed !
It is huge, yet so elegantly done. His robes drape gently around his body. Fingers delicately poised.
and surrounding him on the back piece (gold leaf throne) are all these smaller Buddha figures.
Even the "throne" behind him is a huge slab. The back of it was completely decorated as well, but too dark to photograph without a flash.
In this shot, you get a glimpse of the construction of the building housing the Buddha
I can't get enough of this statue. Every detail is beautifully detailed
The great Buddha statue is just short of 15 meters in height; its head is 5.41 meters high, length of ears 2.54 meters and width of eye 1.02 meters. It is the most impressive Buddha statue I have ever seen. Each time I think ‘I don’t want to visit yet another Buddhist temple’,something like this happens and I realize I have to keep going to visit them, because you never know what treasure you will find there.
The lotus petals on which the great Buddha sits date back to the 8th century, the Nara Period. The lotus petals are just over 3 meters each in width. The detailed hairline engravings on each petal is a work of art all by itself.
We are able to walk completely around the Buddha, as well as the two gold statues flanking it, to see the detailed carvings on the side and back of the throne like structure.
Gold leaf statues flanking the Great Buddha
The two wooden guards; they are giant size as well
These are the doors to the Great Buddha Hall, and a look at the roof eaves and rafters
It is a beautiful building. We can see some of the original colouring under the eaves
I leave the temple and walk around in the grounds during
our free time.
The entrance to a Shinto Shrine. I'll find out later that it is the other entrance to the second site we will be visiting today.
It is a beautiful setting in the park, with huge trees everywhere
The entrance to a Shinto Shrine. I'll find out later that it is the other entrance to the second site we will be visiting today.
There is a small lake on the grounds of the temple
and it loops around past the second set of "painted" gates
leading me back to the first set of unpainted gates
I spot a map of the area near the bus, and realize that we are only a short distance away from our next site, Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Both the temple and the shrine are located within Nara Park.
But we still have to take the bus to get to the second site.
This family shrine was founded in 768 AD at a time when
Nara was the capital of Japan. It should
probably be nick-named the “Lantern Shrine” because there are so many of them
here of all shapes and sizes.
On the pathway leading into the Shinto side of the park
And up through another set of Torri gates
Detail on one of the Sake barrels
My grey hair is blending in beautifully with the grey stone lanterns !
And there are deer in this park as well; even peaking out from between some stone lanterns
We reach the entrance gates to the inner courtyard
and all the lanterns in front of it
as well as inside it. All sorts of lanterns everywhere
The attendants at the Shrine wear whisteria head pieces
because of all the whisteria hanging from an arbor in the courtyard
I take a peak through some bars into the other courtyard and find..... more lanterns !
As we walk back out of the grounds, I spot a lantern with a deer on it. How appropriate.
As we drive away from the site, I spot more deer in the park.
Kind of out of focus since we are driving by fairly fast, but a very peaceful setting.
and with the lake nearby it simply adds to the tranquility of this park in Nara.
As we go back into Nara city itself, I spot this high rise parking enclosure. But this one is for BICYCLES ! I seem to remember seeing something like this on Amazing Race, where they had to find a specific bicycle to use for their next leg of the race.
Nara traffic jam !
As we near Kyoto, we reach an intersection of lots of major highways.
On the ride back to Kyoto, I learned to count in Japanese: (phonetically) 1 = eechee (ichi), 2 = nee (ni), 3 = san, 4 = shee (shi), 5 = go; but our guide this afternoon gave us these words to help us remember how to count: “itchy knee sun she go”. That’s going to stay with me for awhile.
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