Japan - Day 6

Today we went to Nar, site of the first capital of Japan, especially to see the Todaiji Temple, designated as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. We used an express train to get to Nara and then a bus to get to the Todaiji itself (actually it’s a quick walk, I just didn’t know the distance was so short). The temple lies inside the Nara-koen, or Nara park, which is famous for its 1200 tame sacred deers.

There are lots of them. Everywhere. Literally. As they’re tame, they approach people and aren’t really scared (save for the younger ones). You’ll see some photos of them in the gallery. After that, I got to see the Daibutsu (BIG BUDDHA, for NRK). It’s a huge statue of the Buddha, in bronze and gold. Along with that, we paid a visit to the Nara Museum (1200 yen - ick) to see an exhibition on the thirty-three shrine pilgrimage in Japan. Nice exhibits, just a little short for the price.

The afternoon was spent looking for electronics at the BIC CAMERA store near the Kyoto station. Tomorrow we’re back to Tokyo - last two days of shopping before going back to Italy. The gallery has been updated, as usual.

• Japan
• travel