Monday, June 18, 2007

nara (june 2007)

we visited Nara on a daytrip from Kyoto

the kofukuji temple, with its five story pagoda, is a world heritage site
DSC_0242.jpg
check the cartoon version
DSC_0352.jpg

Nara is famous for the "semi-wild" or "tame" deer that roam about the park (the guidebook says there are 1000s).
DSC_0220.jpg
they were originally regarded as divine messengers of one of the shinto gods and now are a tourist attraction.
DSC_0233.jpg

the deer were not wary of humans (in part because we feed them deer biscuits sold by local vendors).
one result is you see fantastic deer cleaning tricks
DSC_0259.jpg
DSC_0255.jpg

in june, Nara also has lots of school kids
DSC_0244.jpg

including some who pestered, and petted, the deer
DSC_0268.jpg
DSC_0270.jpg

ignoring the angry deer warnings
DSC_0251.jpg

the juxtaposition was interesting
DSC_0267.jpg
DSC_0272.jpg

the todaiji temple, "the largest wooden building in the world," is another world heritage site
DSC_0277.jpg
it houses a huge buddha
DSC_0287.jpg
and a model of the temple which shows how it looks on the two days each year when they open the top windows to reveal the buddha
DSC_0318.jpg

inside they had this politely worded sign
sacred.jpg

Pindola sits outfront
DSC_0282.jpg
the explanation is interesting
pindola.jpg

kasuga taisha shrine, yet another world heritage site, is famous for its lanterns
DSC_0371.jpg

there is a 1000 year old japanese cedar tree in the courtyard of the shrine
DSC_0378.jpg
with a chinese juniper tree growing out of its roots and through the roof of one of the buildings
DSC_0383.jpg
i love that they commemorate this with a sign rather than cutting it down
cedar.jpg

nearby, i found this torii
DSC_0386.jpg

and this sign and tree
apricot.jpg
DSC_0388.jpg

vendors sold cutsie deer products all over the site
DSC_0333.jpg
DSC_0332.jpg
DSC_0393.jpg
DSC_0348.jpg
and deer were featured in ads
DSC_0253.jpg
DSC_0349.jpg
and on stone lanterns
DSC_0357.jpg

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home