Nara - Day 2 - Kasuga Taisha 春日大社 - Todai-ji Temple 東大寺 - Kofuku-ji Temple 興福寺

Kasuga Taisha 春日大社 - Todaiji 東大寺 - Kofukuji 興福寺

I woke up around 07:45 and I thought I was going to be the first one to get out. Not quite, to my surprise the Japanese girl was gone. Luckily we had exchanged business cards the night before and she said she was going to email me soon once she’d get back in Tokyo.

I want to share a couple of things with everyone: first, if you know about Oriental cultures (Chinese, Korean and Japanese) you might know what I’m going to say already, but it’s quite convenient to carry some business cards on you trip to Asia. Why? They do care about business cards. More than you think actually.

We westerners do not really care about them, but it does help you get somewhere by showing it to the person you’re talking. I made new friends in restaurants (even though I spoke the basic Japanese). The second thing is that be patient when Japanese people “I’m going to email you”. They will but they’ll take their time. There’s nothing wrong with this, but keep in mind that it might not be an immediate reply.

Enough of Japanese culture, let’s continue with the day in Nara. I took a shower, drank some macha (green tea) and ate yoghurt. Off we go.

View Naramachi-hostel to Kofuku-ji temple in a larger map

Nara during the day was a bit different, but then again what could I expect I arrived on a Sunday around 21:15. Nara was now crowded but I had to go through the arcade to get to the first Buddhist temple I had on my day map trip. The name of the temple is 興福寺 (Kofuku-ji) built in 710. It’s actually not difficult to get there since there’s a pond, called Sarasawa-ike,  just across the temple and a lot of students gathered around the temple.

As I started to walk upstairs I started to see the first mini buddhas. I find those little buddhas quite cute. I’m a bit ignorant about their purpose and why they’re all around, not only in temples but almost everywhere in the least expected place.

Mind you there are many entrances to this temple but I got on the south entrance. I don’t really recommend this entrance since you'd need to walk upstairs and it might be a bit hard if you can't walk. If you’ve got knee problems or rather walk on a flat place then I recommend you the North entrance or the East one.

Little Buddhas - 興福寺 Kofuku-ji

After the little buddhas and once on the top you could see what seems to be a praying building. As you turn your sight to the right you could the big pagoda and what I think is the most important thing to see here. 

It was here at the Kofuku-ji I had my first encounter with Nara’s pets,  the deer.

Some people are quite scared of them, some others don’t seem to care. Obviously the deer couldn't care less, unless you show them a bit of food and then you’re going to get into trouble. I say trouble, but it’s more like “prepare to be chased” J . But across the city you do get lots of signs telling you not to get too close to them, especially refrain from feeding them.  But let’s be honest, how can you tell kids, even an adult (including me) not to get close to them. For once, I’m used to see them in the zoo behind a fence, here they’re free and you can touch them, on your own risk that is.  

Moving on I wondered what this building next to the pagoda was, where everyone was going to. It’s the temple’s museum and even though it was not in my plans I highly recommend you to visit it. You’ll many Buddhist statues from different eras, as well as an amazing Buddha with many arms holding different items, I guess it represent the everything.

春日大社 Kasuga-taisha

After this temple I started wandering around and then kept heading north and I went pass what seem to be a park and then went straight to  春日大社(Kasuga-taisha) Shinto shrine built in 768 following an unmarked path. I followed a couple through a very nice forest and ended up in the hill that leads to the shrine. 

I took some nice pictures and I came across this funny situation of a little lad who was surrounded by deer. He was eating ice-cream and like I said before I think he attempted to feed them but it went all wrong. The deer didn’t care his scream and even the small deer started chasing him. 

It was quite funny, especially because his mum was looking at him with another woman laughing at his son.

Like I said in my previous post when I visited Ise, Shinto shrines have something "special" an indescribable feeling. That is the beauty of nature, trees and greenness all around. If you take that and on top you add deer it all feels like you’re not even in an spiritual place but in some kind of natural reserve.

Something that I learnt a couple of weeks ago is that most of the forests in Japan are man-made. Yet, it looks beautiful. 

I reckon you have to be Japanese or a well-documented biologist to know that those forests are not 100% natural. Still, Kasuga-taisha is not man-made, its name is Kasugayama Primeval Forest and it’s a UNESCO World Site heritage.

Despite being very crowded, the whole site does not feel in any way busy and you actually can feel it. The vermilion colour around the shrine as well as the golden lanterns all around gives a beautiful view. Outside the shrine you also have the stone lanterns which I fell in love with. 

The whole site is very big and you will not know when you’re leaving the holy site and when you’re in the Kasugayama Forest. All is so quiet and peaceful that you can really feel surrounded by all the nature Kamis.

on the way to 春日大社 (Kasuga-taisha)

However, I believe this place is not always safe or the shrines might have been vandalised. The shrines located far from the main shrine have CCTV. Why would you have CCTV? Tourists perhaps? who knows....  we’re not all nice people.

Female Shinto Priest 春日大社 (Kasuga-taisha)

Well my time on this temple was over and it was already afternoon so I had to run if I wanted to visit one of the main landmarks in Nara and that’s the Big Buddha temple aka Todai-ji 東大寺.

Now I was heading west of the city but I was starving, all of a sudden it got quite cold and I didn’t had a clue where the next restaurant was. Luckily as I came to the end of the shrine it started to snow a bit but it was very windy and only the deer didn't seem to notice the sudden change in the temperature. Just I came to the end of the park there was a small restaurant that had ramen and udon and I managed to get a nice place looking outside. 

Udon with Shitake mushrooms 

Indeed, the menu was in Japanese but anyway the pictures helped me and the man gave me warm green tea whilst waiting for the udon. I couldn't tell the difference between good or bad, but for me it was quite delicious. I could have easily asked for two of those but time was running and I wanted to see as much as possible before sunset.

I was a dreamer thinking I could get to the top on the viewing point. I mean it is on every map but I couldn’t find the right path to get to the top so I ended up going around it and I found some nice shops that somehow looked like a ghost town. It was quite a funny scene, mainly because on the left hand were all this shops and on the right hand side the deer were resting and sun-bathing ( I know I said it was snowing just a minute ago but that’s how crazy the weather was that day).

deer in Nara Koen 奈良公園の鹿

I hadn’t bought any souvenirs yet and I had to catch up with that too so I randomly got into one shop.

This shop I picked was rather dusty inside and they seemed to be selling a lot of unnecessary rubbish, but normally those shops are the ones that have good prices and I might have got something cheap. 

Not quite, but the old couple who owned the place were so nice and helpful even though they didn't speak a word of English. I decided to help them and buy some stuff from them. I say “help” instead of just “buy” since Japan tourism was going through an all-time low. 
I bought some one tee and a couple of book for children in Japanese with furigana (that’s a special for children because they use hiragana on top so you can read it easily).

It was snowing again but this time the wind decided to get rid of the snow quickly and all that remained when I got out of the shop was the wind who decided to stick with me for the rest of the day, not that I cared but it was a bit annoying at the time of taking pictures.  

As I was leaving the mountain and heading to the Tamukeyama Hachimangu Shrine I felt like eating ice-cream. I was in the middle of nowhere but you know Japanese they have a vending machine for everything you can imagine. 

I wonder why they haven’t invented a vending machine with Japanese girls. That’d really made my day J  but anyway. I bought this Glico ice-cream despite the weather and I stopped to eat it in the public toilet. Boy, I seriously wish public toilets in the rest of the world would be like the Japanese ones.

Glico chocolate and nuts ice-cream

The one I decided to rest looked more like an oriental version of a Swiss chalet.  Finished the ice-cream and I was leaving behind the deer or so I thought. Not even close I got to another religious site both Shinto and Buddhist. 
The first one was the Tamukeyama Hachimangu Shinto shrine on the bottom and some 50 metres apart were the two other Buddhist temples the Sangatsu-do and the big one the Nigatsu-do on top of the hill. The first one a rather small one, with some nice little Buddha statues and an amazing well carved Buddha, probably made by a well-experienced stone-mason. 

As I was about to leave a very old lady was coming up. I reckon this lady might have been on her 70s if not 80s (Japanese people’s age is so hard to tell) but her walk was very slow and painful. Still, she got to the top of the hill where this temple was and she started talking with a man who happened to come out from nowhere.

Nigatsu-do 二月堂

I walked down the hill, not before taking some pictures and then I approach Nigatsu-do temple  which was breath-taking, because the whole structure of the temple was built on a wood skeleton that supported pretty much the whole temple. I got to the top and looked a Buddhist fountain with a dragon. 




As I walked to the main place there were some TV people, actors, camera-men all wearing suits. It was when I got to that part when I spotted another snow front coming from the north. At that point I understood why the monks built the site there. 

The view was amazing and you could see both north and south, not the east of the city though. I presume that back in the Nara period when this part of the city was very far from the main castle only monks and scholars would have come to this temple. I’m only speculating so don’t take my words for granted but that’s what I thought when I got there.

Barely 10 minutes passed until the snow got to the temple and everyone included the TV people tried to avoid the snow unsuccessfully. The temple is a typical Japanese temple with the front opened where you can see where the monks pray and all the most important things hang some on the top frame or is written on a tablet. Also add the bamboo mat that covers the floor and the big iron vat where people stick the incense.

As I walked around the temple the TV people ran down stairs and vanished like a commando team on a narrow alley. I knew where I had to walk next so I walked downstairs and followed the same way they took. I keep heading west of the city and this time it was not going to take me long until I get to the next and final landmark of the day the Todaiji-temple.

Todai-ji Temple 東大寺

Unexpectedly, I was already in the just outside Todai-ji temple on the east side of it. There was this huge bell which might be only used during special religious events or events. Then I walked downstairs and I surrounded the main site where the Buddha was but still at that point I was clueless. Nevertheless, the crowded led me to the main gate. 

What happened all of a sudden all these people came out from nowhere. Anyway, I got inside and I saw this colossal Buddha. It’s seriously big. There’s no picture that can represent how big it is. I reckon it’s comparable to the Buddha in Thailand, but I’ve never been there personally so if you have been in both places, please correct me if I’m wrong.

After that I was knackered but I promised myself I was going to go out to try some Nara delicacies in a restaurant that the hostel owner had recommended. I got to the hotel and on the way I spotted this very Japanese image. All over 50 years old people gathered in what I think it is a convenient store during the day but it was an improvised bar after closing time. I just love it!

Anyway, I left my camera and asked for directions to the owner. He guaranteed the place was good and so expensive, since I was about to have a food fest. However, when I got to the place I was a bit confused. The so-called restaurant was in a second-floor building out of any tourist place. I know those are the best, because no tourists go and only Japanese and people who know about this know about this place. But still coming from Ise and Kyoto I was a bit sceptical.

I wandered around the tourist place looking for a nice restaurant but I have to be honest and all were a bit over the budget I had. So after looking around for like half an hour and I decided to go to this place, which seriously looked like a restaurant coming out from the gloomiest Murakami’s book you can imagine.

Fear not and I have to say to make this clear. Despite all my fears and doubts about the restaurant I got there and I sat in the bar. There were soooo many big bowls with raw or pre-cooked food that I didn’t know what to order.

The restaurant was very clean but a bit dark but it just added up to the whole atmosphere. The owner was very happy and willing to help me choose food but he couldn’t speak a word of English. On the very end of the restaurant on one table were 4 men talking about business and women ( yes, remember that I know my bit of Japanese) . Anyway, that bit didn’t help me this time so I had to rely on my iphone app called Kotoba (translated into English “word”) and every 3 word I had to looked it up but it made things easier for everyone.

I asked but typical Nara food and he said everything hahaha. I cracked up at this comment but ok, fair enough he just wanted to sell food. Challenge accepted!  I ordered fried chicken with some vergetals, then fish with rice, followed with bamboo hearts (the best thing of the night) the last thing I ordered was fish with very thin but tasty. It might have been prepared with some kind of broth or something. He had more stuff but after that I was stuffed to my surprise. Almost before I was going to leave the place this young lad came in. He also sat on the bar and asked for some fried chicken and fish. The owner said something to him and then he left.

fried chicken with marinated lettuce

grilled marinated fish and gohan (rice)

baby bamboo - just delicious

marinated boiled vegs

grilled salmon with ramen

Well I thought the owner was going to come back soon but it took him at least 15 mins. I fell so awkward. I fell so Japanese all of a sudden. Me, sitting inside a hidden restaurant on a second floor, the owner was somewhere and this quiet lad was just there in silence. So I decided to break the ice and I introduced myself. He started chatting in broken Japanglish, seriously priceless. I wish I had more chances like those to meet random people.

He ended up being a chef in a café near Kasuga-taisha and he invited me to visit his workplace. Again, the whole situation relaxed a lot when I decided to give him my personal card. He gave me his. All of a sudden the owner came back laughing that we were talking. The said something and I also gave my card to the restaurant’s owner and he gave me his.

Here I was at 23:00 sitting in a proper Nara restaurant chatting with two Japanese and having fun. His name is Hisato and I’m not going to spoil tomorrow’s post but the next day I went to visit him and it was great, indeed it was. I said good-bye and I promise to give a good review to the restaurant and I have to say that the restaurant is very good. The price is good and the taste is great. Please say you’re coming from Naramachi hostel and he’ll welcome you with his arms wide-opened.

After that I said ok, enough for today it’s been a veeeeeeery long day so time for a shower and off to bed. Not quite, I got to the hostel and there were new people a Kiwi girl and a Scottish girl both English teachers backpacking Japan. All of a sudden the Japanese girl who I thought was gone in the morning was still there but in a hurry. As she was saying good-bye to everyone she told me “wanna go to the onsen nearby?” “Sure” I said. She was late for her train but she had to go back there because she’s forgot her purse. We got there she introduced me to the lady who was running the onsen.  Next, she said goodbye and I left my shoes outside. I paid and put my clothes on the locker. I was so clueless hahaha. I didn’t know what to do but anyway. 

Onsen entrance - shoes lockers

This onsen might have been the oldest in Nara but it has that old feeling. The onsen was split in halves with the owner sitting in the middle of the onsen. The lady could see both naked men and women but she didn’t even bother as she was watching some Japanese comedy.

Panoramic inside the Onsen in Naramachi - Nara

I decided to get inside the bath and again clueless! I mean I seriously didn’t know there’s even an etiquette for taking a shower and using the onsen, but I learnt that again a week after in Yokohama when my friend’s brother took me to another onsen.

Enough for today, I was knackered, like seriously tired but I got back and the kiwi girl started talking to me, oh well….. let’s talk. I’ll leave the rest for tomorrow as we couldn’t speak too much because the owner of the hostel turned off the lights.