04 June 2009

Nara and the Buddha's Nostril

After a looooong delay, i finally made some time to upload those pics from my Nara trip a while back. Nara is one of the most important cultural areas in Japan with many famous shrines and temples. In addition to that, it's a wonderful nature spot where the deer are aplenty are roam free. Just as in Miyajima, they aren't shy in the least. In fact I'd call 'em downright hostile...hah. The pics below are from Kofukuji. This temple has the tallest 5 story pagoda in Japan and is next to Nara deer park.


Next was Kasuga Taisha. To reach the shrine requires a bit of a hike through some forrests. The deer of course is the god-protector. Very cool, quiet, and mossy : )


Lastly is Todaiji, which might be the most famous temple in Japan, famed for housing the largest sitting Buddha. This is tops on the list for sightseers in Japan and it's worth the trip. One of the pillars has a hole going through it called the 'Buddha's Nostril". it's quite narrow and if you can fit through it, all good stuff will come to you. Kids have no problem, but sometimes you see the zealous adult give a go, which must be fun to watch. As with everywhere in Nara, be careful of deer gangs. : )