Jono and I had decided it was time we did a day trip, just the two of us, to a new place. We decided to go to Nara.
Nara took 2 hours by train, and we were really lucky with the weather. I was surprised by its slow pace and sleepy little streets, even though it is quite a large city. We meandered through the cobble stoned streets, popping into shops of interest and enjoying the hospitality of the shop owners. The first shop that we stopped
in at was a honey shop. From across the street it looked like a perfume store, with all of these colourful glasses (jars) on display around on the shelves. On closer inspection we were corrected! The shop owner gave us each a small cup of cordial, which was deeeeeeeelicious. She told us it was honey cordial, with different flavouring. Next she gave us a small spoon and let us taste the variety of honey. We tasted blueberry, raspberry, lemon, maple, acerola (cherry) and yuza (Japanese lime). Each tasting was followed by an approving Mmmmmmm with wide eyes! Each one just got better! We made the executive decision to grab a variety pack on our way home, seeings we couldn't decide on just one. The lady told us you can have it on toast, ice cream and even diluted in water to make the cordial!! Yum, yum, yum. We may be going back to Nara in the future just to get another stock of honey!
Our first landmark for the day was Kofukuji. This is a temple that was transferred to Nara from Kyoto in 710. The original temple complex had 175 buildings but fires and destruction due to power struggles have left only a dozen or so still standing. In Nara there are two pagodas, one 3-storey and one 5-storey. The 5-storey pergoda is the tallest in Japan. They were both quite spectacular and it just leaves you wondering how on earth they managed to build them and how many people died in the process?
Nara took 2 hours by train, and we were really lucky with the weather. I was surprised by its slow pace and sleepy little streets, even though it is quite a large city. We meandered through the cobble stoned streets, popping into shops of interest and enjoying the hospitality of the shop owners. The first shop that we stopped
in at was a honey shop. From across the street it looked like a perfume store, with all of these colourful glasses (jars) on display around on the shelves. On closer inspection we were corrected! The shop owner gave us each a small cup of cordial, which was deeeeeeeelicious. She told us it was honey cordial, with different flavouring. Next she gave us a small spoon and let us taste the variety of honey. We tasted blueberry, raspberry, lemon, maple, acerola (cherry) and yuza (Japanese lime). Each tasting was followed by an approving Mmmmmmm with wide eyes! Each one just got better! We made the executive decision to grab a variety pack on our way home, seeings we couldn't decide on just one. The lady told us you can have it on toast, ice cream and even diluted in water to make the cordial!! Yum, yum, yum. We may be going back to Nara in the future just to get another stock of honey!
Our first landmark for the day was Kofukuji. This is a temple that was transferred to Nara from Kyoto in 710. The original temple complex had 175 buildings but fires and destruction due to power struggles have left only a dozen or so still standing. In Nara there are two pagodas, one 3-storey and one 5-storey. The 5-storey pergoda is the tallest in Japan. They were both quite spectacular and it just leaves you wondering how on earth they managed to build them and how many people died in the process? 
As we wandered along the tree lined paths and enjoyed the wide spaces of nature there were often wild deer lazing around. We often walked past little tables selling "deer food" for 150 yen. It was quite entertaining seeing many other tourists trying to feed the crackers to the deers, with trembling fingers and a slight flinch and jump back once it was taken from them! One lady even put the biscuit in her mouth and fed it to the deer. Eww. They were very tame and more than happy to let you pat them (if you wanted to) and pose for photos.
Our next port of call was to give Big Bud a visit (the bronze buddha) at Todaji Temple. This is the star attraction of Nara.This Todaji Temple is the third generation structure (after being destroyed twice by the fires of war) and although it is 33%smaller than the original structure is actually the largest wooden structure in the world. On entry of the huge Daibutsu-den Hall I was quite impressed at the size of the Buddha.I really had to tilt my head up quite high to see his head. The large Buddha is sitting on a tall platform and he is 14.98 meters tall. His head alone is 5.41m high! This temple serves as both a place of prayer for peace on Earth (there were many people lighting a candle and placing it on the rack in front of Buddha) and a centre of Buddhist doctrinal research. Behind the Buddha is a large up-right pole with a hole cut through the base. It is said that anyone who can climb through will be blessed with good luck. We saw a high school student slide through with one arm first. It was a tight fit but he made it. 
We really enjoyed the relaxing walk through and past many temples and ancient statues, many covered decoratively with moss and finally made our way back to the station, but not without buying the honey first. On our way we came across two men making the dough for a Japanese sweet. One man had a mallet type utensil which he swung up above his head and belted down into the large bowl while another man risked his limbs by slapping the mixture and rolling it over. They had a chant going that got faster and faster and was quite a show to see. 