Oh Nara we only knew you for such a little while

Our two nights in Nara are done. Time to hit the frog'n'toad head to Osaka.

A few long exposures from our hotel window

Tsukihi-tei

A step up in class from last night's meal but still no Michelin. The Rough Guide to Japan was our dining companion tonight. They recommended this place for its kaseiki menu. It wasn't too bad. Pretty cheap too compared to the Michelins. We even got a little hot plate and burner to cook the meat and vegie course which was fun. We had a bit of stumble at the beginning with a trainee waitress that spoke absolutely no English and would only point at the menu, all in Japanese, when when we asked about sake. I think she was nervous, poor thing. We did end up with what we thought we ordered. Only one part of one dish was a bit dubious. Imagine a shot glass full of a green gooey substance with the sticky consistency of cold slimy wet snot. Ooh baby.

Kasuga Taisha

After Todai-ji it isn't far to Kasuga Taisha. A Shinto shrine with thousands of bronze and stone lanterns. There are hundreds of stone lanterns lining the paths through the park leading to the shrine. It was still raining and the deer were still friendly. And by friendly on the look out for deer cookies which a sold in stalls throughout the park. The deer will come up to you and sniff your pockets or hands to see if you have the cookies. If you're a silly tourist you will feed the deer and that will get you a bite on the arse from a deer looking for more once you run out of cookies. We saw a number of American tourists who had been feeding the deer pulled down and eaten or trampled to death. They hunt in packs you know. I'm not sure what the park authorities do with the remains. We made a break for a cafe and had iced coffee, hot dogs and a banana ice cream and watched the Korean girl beat the Japanese girl in the figure skating at the Vancouver Olympics on tele. Sometimes I think Aussie TV is jingoistic but you'd think from Japanese TV there wasn't anything else on at the Olympics for the last few days. For 3 days leading up to the event they'd been playing up the rivalry between the 2 girls constantly. Every time we'd flick on the tele there'd they be.
I think I know now where the Japanese vending machines breed. It the middle of no-where, like in this huge park in Nara, you'll still find a vending machine. Why else would they be out here except for to breed quietly. Maybe it's the deer?

Todai-ji Temple

Todai-ji is a huge temple and it needs to be because inside is Japan's largest Buddha which is around 30 metres tall and is made of bronze. The temple itself maybe the world's biggest wooden building. The original 8th Century building, it has been destroyed a couple of times, was even bigger. The bottom of one of the pillars inside the building has a small hole through it that people crawl through for luck or something. It's called "the healing pillar".