4/1 Nara

Our last day trip from Osaka was to Nara, an hour by train. It was the original capital of Japan, and is home to the largest wooden building in the world, Todai-ji. It is also home to a large herd of infamous semi-tame deer, wilder than those we had encountered before at Miyajima, and we saw some truly horrible interactions between them and tourists. The most upsetting was when a father and very young son spent many minutes teasing the deer by dangling the ubiquitous "deer crackers" just out of reach, grinning stupidly for pictures. Assholes. Of course, the small child got butted in the stomach by an angry deer, sending him sprawling. He got up, startled but unhurt. The father reacted by roundhouse kicking the deer squarely in the head. Hard. Ben and I stood there, completely stunned, jaws in our laps. I wanted to stuff some of those biscuits down the back of that guy's pants. It was so sickening to watch the completely inappropriate interactions between these wild animals and tourists just looking for something to torment in the name of a good picture. Even more upsetting was my feeling of complete helplessness: if it was America I would have happily told him off, or found the appropriate authorities, but since we are in a different culture I felt unable to do anything but debrief with Ben about it and send kind healing thoughts to the deer. But we got on with our day, giving a wide berth to the furry, oversized pigeons and the stupid tourists.


The well-worn walking route took us past many old shrines. One had the most spectacular sakura tree we had encountered yet.



At the Kasuga shrine, we walked down paths lined by over 1000 stone lanterns. They are only lit twice a year, but I wish we could have witnessed that; It gave me goosebumps to imagine it.



Just as it started drizzling, we made it to Todai-ji. Built in the mid-700s, it was rebuilt after a fire to only 2/3 of the original size. Even still, it was unbelievably massive. Inside was a gigantic statue (also the world's largest) of the Buddha Vairocana, flanked by two lesser Buddhas. A very humbling experience. Ben and I just stood there for a while, listening to the chanting of worshippers, letting the tides of tourists swirl around us.





After making the complete circuit, we found one of the fortune booths we had seen at almost every other major shrine in Japan, but with English fortunes! I eagerly picked up the giant cylindrical canister, shaking it as I emptied my mind. A wooden stick printed with a number and character slipped through the tiny hole at top, and the attendant pulled out the corresponding fortune from his shelf. Ben followed suit. Of course I won't tell you my fortune. We tied our slips of paper just outside the temple door, under the Buddhas' gaze, and with a view of the sakura in the courtyard. If ever two fortunes were to come true, that location afforded best chance.



Oh was it cold outside! We numbly continued our walk. I was suddenly struck with the brilliant idea of buying hot chocolate (for hand warming purposes) from one of the countless vending machines. The vending machines in Japan are better than yours, providing both hot and cold choices. Thank Buddha, our fingers were saved!



Back in town, we heard rhythmic thumping and chanting coming from an extremely crowded shop. Two men were hammering away with giant wooden mallets at a pile of bright green goop. Mochi! In one fluid motion, they turned it into the metal hopper of a machine, which folded in some equally fresh looking bean paste, making perfect little spheres. At the end of a very short conveyer belt, the proprietors were handing them out to the eager crowd.



Ben and I fought our way in to get a piece of that pure mochi goodness. It was still warm in our hands as we took turns taking ecstatic bites. I know it will never be that good again.



That night we met up with Ben's cousin, who was in town teaching English. He took us around some good eating places and watering holes. Ben inadvertently ordered some incredibly alcoholic sake (more like vodka), and the night turned a little fuzzy for us. Our incredibly dry trip had robbed me of what little alcohol tolerance I had, and my two Asahi were plenty. After some leisurely grazing, we remembered that we needed to attend another weekly dance, Mechakucha swing. In the smoky basement bar, we found a swarm of familiar and friendly faces. Unfortunately we showed up so late that we only had about an hour of dancing, but we tried to make the most of what we had left. Many fun dances were had, and we were sad to say goodbye to our new friends. I hope to make it back to Osaka some day!


(photo from Sumie Nishida)