After seeing so many of them over the last week, one can get susceptible to shrine-fatigue. We really needed a break from them. That and the rain.
On the latter, I have discovered a fixed pattern in the weather conditions: namely, that it only rains on odd-numbered days. Whether this provides any scientific basis for deciding on the itinerary for the next few days however, is open to question.
The JR Local train to Nara
Nara lies 40 kilometres south of Kyoto and can be reached in as many minutes by train. It was the first permanent capital of Japan from 710 to 794, after which it was succeeded by Kyoto. The city is said to be second only to Kyoto as a repository for Japan’s cultural legacy.
As we negotiated Kyoto's northern suburbs on the 50 minute bus ride to Kyoto's JR station, it started to rain. Although this wasn't quite Friday’s exceptional proportions, it was on and off for the whole day. As the saying goes , if you can’t beat them, join them: so I decided to buy an umbrella and join all the other millions of Japanese.
The biggest wooden shed in the world
If you’re looking for a decent-sized garden shack, then look no further than Nara. The Daibutseu-den Hall is the largest timber building in the world. Now readers, do you remember the Kamakura Buddha, which was the second largest figure in Japan? Well, Nara’s “wooden shed” manages to trump Kamakura's Daibutsen by some distance. This statue is 16 metres high, consists of 437 tonnes of bronze (hard to believe) and 130 kg of gold. Some Buddha, some building!
I try getting rid of the moss in my garden, how come
the Japanese have put growing it down to such a fine art?
Once you leave the grounds of Todai-Ji in which the Buddha lies, the crowds thin out considerably and you can walk about without fear of having your eyes poked by the mass of umbrellas. Most of Nara’s sites can be seen by taking a 4 kilometre trail around a wooded district on the east of town. The most unusual thing about this part of Nara is that it is home to around 1200 deer. They roam at will in search of handouts from tourists, and though considered to be “wild” are actually quite tame.
The strangest juxtaposition you ever did see:
a deer parked in front of a bridal store
Where would Japan be without its vending machines? And would you buy a drink that made you perspire? Well, this could be the place:
Japan has a curious relationship with the English language. The Kyoto bookshop had metres and metres of shelves devoted to English-language learning, yet English seems to be an enigma to most of its population. Just some examples of the bizarre use of English I spotted today: Jolly Pasta (an Italian restaurant); Stationery Life (an office equipment store - good job it wasn't stationary); and Human & Heart (a dating agency). Another oddball phrase I saw on an advertising hoarding was “Now, life is living you”. Grammatically correct, but what’s it supposed to mean?
Overhead cables
As we wended our way back to Nara station later that afternoon, we walked down a pedestrianised shopping street. They do try their best with banners and decorations to attract shoppers, but one big put-off in Japan is the overhead cables that abound everywhere, even in the centre of town. The Dutch would simply be appalled by this. You would have thought one of the most technologically gifted nations on earth would have found a way to eliminate this eyesore.
Shopping street in Nara
But, on the up-side, the Japanese do stand in queues at bus-stops, so they must be civilised....
Great stuff, yet again...
ReplyDeleteI might have an answer for you about the overground cables...it might be because of earthquakes, believe it or not....
Enjoy your last week or so!