Day 5 FFSAC Tour, WTRD 43 of 49, October 16, 2017

Nara, Ancient Capital of Japan,  

Another grey and rainy day greeted us this morning.  The temperature is cooler.  It would be tempting to stay warm and cozy with a book and a cup of tea.   Hopefully, that is what one of our ailing members will take advantage of today, and we will be back at full strength tomorrow.  In the mean time, the rest of us are on the bus heading from Kyoto to Nara. The trip should take about an hour.  Nara was the capital before the Shogunates from 710-794 CE.during the reign of Emperor Shomu.

Todaiji Temple

When we arrived at the Temple we were met by hundreds of deer that are fed rice cakes by tourists and worshippers.  

The deer hang out by the rice cake kiosk, and aggressively approach visitors like the monkeys do in south east Asia. 

Some of the male deer try to establish their territory and butt heads despite the fact that their horns have been nipped off. I took a photo of this one male, 

and he walked around behind me and put his head down like he was going to butt, but I moved my butt quickly out of the way.

The temple was built during the reign of Emperor Shomu (r 724-749) and was officially positioned as one of many state-established provincial temples.  Todaiji Temple represents “Buddha that shines throughout the world like a sun.” and is magnificently built with grandeur to match the significance of the Buddha.

Note the size of people in the massive doorways.

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Russ looks very small compared to these doors.

Note the size of Buddah's Nostrils - Largest bronzed Buddah in the world.

The Great Buddha hall was burned in the fires of war in 1180 and 1567. 

Part of the fun of this temple is to crawl through a hole

in a pillar the size of Buddha's Nostril.

The currently building is a third generation structure, which was built in the Edo period.  The width of the current building is approximately 33% smaller than that of

the original structure, but it still ranks as the largest wooden structure in the world.














Inside the temple, one can write hopes and prayers on a wooden ornament.  Friendship Force Sacramento send these wishes your way.

We liked this one, too.

Nara Park and Kasuga Taisha Shrine

The trails and steps to the shrine are lined with stone pillared lanterns.  Worshipper-donners buy candles for 3,000 yen and place their candle inside the stone lantern and cover the holes with prayer paper.  They are lit twice a year, once in early February, and one in mid August.  The shrine was built in 768 CE and is Nara's most celebrated.  It is UNESCO World Heritage Site as it has over 3,000 stone lanterns plus metal lanterns.

Zen dry garden

We returned to Kyoto and our hotel by 1:00 pm, took an hour of rest, and was out the door to do some more exploring, accompanied by when of our fellow Friendship Force Member, Andy N.


Yodobashi Camera Store was our first stop where we mostly look-see shopped.  The Buddhist monks were checking out the head shaving equipment. We were on the hunt for a rubber tip for my umbrella, luggage strap, and Andy was searching for a light-weight inexpensive duffle and some chopsticks.

We think the scaffolding is permanent, sliding window washing apparatus.

Inside the train station reaching up to the sky deck,  there is a massive set of stairs that have over 15,000

LED lights on the steps that can be programmed for light shows and serves as a background

for performing artists.

All is well with the Worrall Travel Rs in Kyoto, 

having fun and walking in the rain!

Day 4 FFSAC Tour, WTRD 42 of 49, October 15, 2017

Last night, after a Hibachi Beef dinner, we returned to hotel taking a few pictures of the Kyoto tower.  

For doing nearly nothing but traveling and a little bit of walking and resting, we were ready for bed. 

This morning, the sky is overcast and there is an expectation of rain. We board our tour bus geared with our rain jackets and umbrellas at 8:40.  Our  new guide is Yaeko Miyazaki, an energetic woman filled with information, probably more than most of us could absorb or understand as she spoke English well, but very quickly and with no pauses in between for processing or cementing  what she said into memory.  

Kinkaku (The Golden Pavillion)/Rokuon-ji Temple)

Yaeko gave us a ticket for entrance that explained the history and purpose of Kinkaku.  Basically, the Golden Temple is a Shariden, a Buddhist hall containing relics of Buddha.  The pavillion is a part of a temple that is formally named Rokuon-ji  Temple, a Zen Buddhist temple.

Kinakaku teahouse

Nijo-jo Castle

The Nijo-jo Castle is definitely the most beautiful castles and administrative ceremonial centers we have visited, and is the most noteworthy in its 400 year history witnessing some of the most important events in Japanese and history, from the formal beginning of the Shogunate and the feudal period to the formal end of the Shogunate and feudal period.

Unfortunately, we were unable to take photos on the inside of the castle, but many of the beautiful screens we saw in the Nagoya castle were copied from the ones in the Nijo-jo castle.  So I am including some of Nagoya interior photos to give an idea of the grandeur of Nikjo-jo castle.

This castle has singing floors.  Special construction of the floors make purposeful squeaks (sounds like a squeaky swing set) or a box of crickets.  Ninjas were very quiet in spying and espionage.  Even on tip toes, the Ninjas could not sneak up and hear conversations nor get into mischief without notice.

Lunch

Our lunch today was in a restaurant that served buffet style food.  All looked delicious and was difficult to choose what you wanted to eat.  You could eat as much as you wanted. Soft drinks and tea were included, but there was a complete beer and hard liquor self-serve bar for a charge.

Kyoto Imperial Palace (27 acres)

The Kyoto Imperial Palace was the residence of Japanese Emperors until 1896, when the capital was moved to Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration.  There are many detached buildings for sleeping, ceremony, meetings, audience, study, guest quarters, etc. sitting serenely amongst a large and impressive garden of trees, ponds, and bridges.

We did not go in to any of the buildings, many of which are being restored, but we did walk around through the gardens in the dripping rain.  It is no wonder that these gardens are so lush and green.  Beauty, serenity, and peace are embodied in these gardens.

Kiyomizu-Dere Temple

This Buddhist temple was built in 1633 and is currently under reconstruction.  Built on a hillside, we walked up a hill through a narrow market street.  It was raining and everyone had up their umbrella making the street feel much smaller as we ducked and dodged the points of open umbrellas.

It is Sunday in Japan and many of the young people were walking around in kimonos, both men and women.  We learned that when young women come of age, their parents buy them their first adult kimono with long sleeves indicating they are single.  These kimonos can be quite pricey with the average price being around 80,000 yen (800 U$D) and range in price from 30,000 yen to over 1,000,000 yen (10,000 USD).

With so many Japanese dressed for the day, we felt fortunate to capture so many photos that captured traditional dress, and added to the color of the cultural experience.

Our last stop of the day was a Shinto Temple.

Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine

New Year’s day is the busiest day of the year as Japanese come to pray for good luck, health, and prosperity.  Going through a Shinto gate brings good luck.  This amazing shrine has approximately 10,000 Shinto Gates and a path up the hill that pass through all of the gates.  This Shrine is one of the most popular tourist sites in Kyoto.

By the time we reach Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine, it is dusk and the lanterns are turned on giving a glow to the tunnel of gates.  We did not have time to go through all of the gates which apparently takes a couple of hours if you are booking it, slower if there are a lot of people.  We would be there until after midnight.

Our plans for tomorrow is to leave at 8:00 am and travel to Nara.  It is already 6:00 pm.  We are tired, damp, and getting a McDonald’s take out and bringing it back to the room is gaining traction. We are looking forward to hot showers and going to bed, but first we have to finish this blog.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R’s in Kyoto after a full day of touring.