I am not an animal fan. Not because I'm scared of them or anything silly like that- I just don't like them much. When we arrived in Nara and saw this sign, I liked the idea of being surrounded by deer even less.
But then I saw this one and thought that any deer cultured enough to have learnt to do the Capriole at the Spanish Riding School surely couldn't be that bad.
Deer are the Big Thing in Nara. They are very respected as they are the messengers of the Gods. What better way to show your respect than to make it into a delightful monkey/deer hybrid phone charm?
Todai-ji is also in Nara Park. This is a Buddhist temple.
The Gread Buddha of Todai-ji is the biggest in Japan. I think it looks a bit smaller than the one at Kamakura, probably because it's inside and surrounded by other things.
If you rub a body part on this beshowercapped Buddha and then rub the corresponding part of your own body, it is said to cure any ailment you may have there. Boyo tried it for his aching feet but I am not sure how well it worked.
It was lovely to look around the temple, though I have to admit that I was rather disappointed not to be able to use my loud speaker.
Behind the Daibutsu, just next to the souvenir shop, is a pillar. At the bottom of the pillar is a hole which is allegedly the same size as the Buddha's nostril. Rumour has it that if you can fit through the hole, you will achieve enlightenment. I declined, as I am enlightened enough for the time being, but Boyo could not resist scrabbling around on the floor.
You will all be pleased to know that he reached an enlightened state (feet first). Does that mean he should have some kind of holy title now? Is he officially a Buddha?
I am not sure what this poster is for, but I am not sure how well received a product advertised by disabled children being bullied by a deer would be in the UK!
There are deer literally everywhere. Even on the manhole covers. In case you thing this photo looks a bit weird, it is because I took it upside down because I did not notice that there was a deer on it.
It was a Very Hot Day when we went to Nara. To cool us down we bought some shaved ice from a lovely old Japanese couple. I had remon and Boyo went for strawberry. Neither tasted anything like, but I did enjoy the excessive E numbers which are so hard to get hold of these days in the UK.
After a long uphill struggle, we reached the Kasuga shrine. It was so worth it for the 3000 stone lanterns. I think my preferred time to go would be evening or night, but it was still nice in the midday sun.
We went back to Osaka, withdrew some more money (well, Boyo did) and hit the shops in Amerika Mura (America Town).Oh, what lovely pants they had.
It was the most American place I have ever been. Presumably this will be surpassed when I actually go to America.
While most of the things in the shops did not meet with my level of sophistication, the combination of neon and Disney characters was right up Boyo's street. *SADLY* (make of that what you will) the prices did not quite meet with his skinflint needs. Quelle dommage.
By and large, Japanese style is very good. I found myself wishing I was a Japanese girl on pretty much an hourly basis. Sometimes though, things are just plain wrong:
We tried octopus balls. I was expecting to be disgusted and horrified. It was not to be- they just tasted of brown sauce and mayonnaise. I think octopus (along with Okonomiyaki) is the speciality of Osaka, the kitchen of Japan.
Dotonbori is a long road with about a zillion restaurants. They are all really cool looking. I could have eaten A LOT there, but we decided to just have one tea (no need to be greedy). No prizes for guessing what it was.
At night everything lights up and looks even BETTER.
I am not sure why, but this running man is famous. I was so pleased to see crazy lights somewhere in Japan. While I understand why they're doing it, I was a bit gutted that Tokyo wasn't all lit up. Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to go again!
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