Nara & Osaka

Well, we were meant to do a lot more than we actually did today but it seems that I may have planned more than we could handle.

We started out a little later than I had planned so we could have another big breakfast to keep us fueled up. This got us to Nara about two hours late. My main aim for Nara was to see the giant Buddha, feed the shika (deer) and try some shika-senbei :) We took the bus to Todai-jinja, got off, walked across the street and were confronted by a pack of hungry deer. We bought some biscuits and fed the deer. One mission accomplished. The deer were quite happy to eat the biscuits but were reluctant to let you pat them. I tried to round some up to get a "surrounded-by-deer" photo. It was a little harder than expected as some of the deer got bored and tried elsewhere and the others got impatient and started head-butting me. I now have a decent bruise on my right thigh and was sporting a tender cheek for a time after being bitten on the behind! They also tried to eat my jacket and backpack straps.

After the biscuits were gone, we headed for the temple. Passing through the first gate (Nandai-mon) was impressive, with the two fierce guardians glaring down at us from each side. They are carved out of wood and stand about 20ft high (at a guess). Strolling through to the main gate we were accosted by more deer and more trinket vendors. Looking through the bars at the main gate showed a huge temple and it's only two-thirds it's original size!! We entered and the Buddha is HUGE! I really don't think you can really grasp it till you see it with your own eyes. Around the back of the Buddha is a post that has a hole through the base of it. Legend says if you can pass through it, you will reach enlightenment. Well, we were up for the challenge and 20 minutes in line put us in position. I was feeling nervous because if I didn't make it through, I was sure I would be laughed at for being a baka-gaijin. After taking off my backpack and jacket, I crouched down and reached both arms through, pushed off with my feet and wiggled and pulled my way through...and got through! Yay, enlightenment for me! The crowd cheered.

DS was next. Of course, he is much bigger than me, so he was more concerned. After a little more struggling, he also made it through, with more cheering and gasping from the crowd. So with the both of us on the path to enlightenment, we felt it was time to leave and get some lunch. On the way out, we were pulled aside by a group of Korean high-school boys, asking us to take a photo. We obliged, thinking that he wanted us to take a photo of him and his friends. I can only assume he had seen us go through and actually wanted a photo with us! We were happy to do so and imagined him telling his mates about the two big westerners who got through the hole! :) We were now running another half-hour late.


We left Nara for Tennoji-ku (Osaka) to have Okonomiyaki for lunch. We found the place without too much difficulty and were glad we did. The food was delicious *^_^* We ordered a little too much but it wasn't a problem finishing it up. It was now 3pm and we should have been in Osaka sight-seeing two hours previous. I still wanted to go to the castle and Japan Mint but unfortunately, DS' battery-pack ran out and we decided to head back to Tokyo and temporary-home. We were still full from our late lunch, so we just showered and hit the hay -_-