Nara is accesible via Kyoto on a local line train - but don't be fooled - catch the rapid service as the local one is freezing! After an hour and a half of utter freezing weather we arrived in Nara, didn't look that great to be honest. However Nara's beauty is through the town, up the hill and into the park.
Now we know we have raved about Tokyo being so modern and Kyoto being such a cultural experience but Nara is sheer beauty. As you walk up the street you enter a temple complex with 2 red pagodas which are very well looked after - probably the best we have seen. From the temple complex, the town disappears and you enter a huge park area with nothing but trees and grass as far as the eye can see. Of course there is more in this wonderous place than just trees and grass - there are huge temple complexes, treasure house (we were very excited about this) and of course messengers of the gods. These messengers come in the shape of deer, literally everywhere, you can not walk 20m without seeing some. Japanese mythology states that they were placed in the park as messengers of the gods so can not be hunted or moved - so they stay begging for food off anyone who walks by. But the really cool thing about these deer is that they are Japanese through and through. The custom while in Japan to show respect is to either nod your head or bow, depending on the situation and person you are respecting (Dave has got really in it - nodding at everyone). Well if you bow at these deer they bow back - now that really is very cool! However they are also not to be trusted as they swarm anyone with food - Megan got her coat tugged by a couple and we did witness one biting a Japanese tourists bum... funny!
Anyhow back to the park, some of the walks are shaddowed by trees so ancient lanterns made of stome are lit to guide you - making you feel like you are back in ancient times.
The highlight of this park is not the deer, but the biggest woodern building in the world which contains the biggest housed Buddha in the world. All very cool - the view of this building is breathtaking - it feels as if you are walking into a Emperors chamber, it is that grand a scale. The Buddha itself is massive, and only just fits in this gigantic woodern structure. Although very good to see to be honest we found the forest walks and deer the highlight - beautiful
We are off to Osaka tomorrow of which we will try not to use the words beautiful, cultural and modern... lets see how we get on :-)