Japan April 2003 (cont'd)
Day 6 - Nara
Relaxing morning with a short walk around the ANA to decide on a restaurant for dinner. We wanted Sushi.
We stopped at Lawsons (a convenience store) to buy so lunch bits and Nicole discovered this rice triangles with some meat inside - really nice. Kim discovered this chemical ice packs - good for a sore neck. We also bought some Ramen noodle contains and headed back to the hotel room to heat and eat before the bus to Nara. Noodles weren't much good so Phil ran back to Lawsons for more triangles.
The bus ride to Nara was interesting as we passed rice paddies and green tea plantations. After over an hour we arrived at the Deer Park in Nara.
A short walk and we then saw the biggest wooden building in the world that contains the biggest Buddha in the world. Awesome!.
We walked around the Buddha, took photos of deer and headed back to the bus.
A short ride and then we were at another Shinto Shrine. Very basic with hundreds of stone lanterns. Though basic it was somehow more beautiful than all the others. Shinto is based on nature and appreciating what we have today.
Big Wooden Temple / Kim at the temple / Nicole and the Cherry Blossoms
Bec and the deer / Lanterns at the Shinto Shrine
We had wanted to skip the Nara tour but it turned out to offer some of the best sites of the trip.
Bonus at the end when we reached Kyoto was getting out at Kyoto station. The guide mentioned numerous shops and restaurants. As we strolled the arcade we discovered a Sushi Train - fantastic! - one of the best meals and best value of the trip.
Other bonus was a chance to explore the path we needed to take on the subway the next day with our ever growing bags.