First day

After a wonderful week in Kyoto it was time to reach the next destination , Nara. From Kyoto It takes about 45 min by train to go there.
Nara is a popular destination for his massive park with wild deers. It’s also a fantastic place to visit temples (it has some of the oldest in Japan). Most people will make a daytrip to Nara. I’m coming to realise that Nara deserves more than that. It’s a magical place surrounded by wilderness. Some people may think that Nara is a small rural place but it’s not. It’s actually a big town with a small city center and a huge park on the east side. It still has a much smaller size than Kyoto. I have to say this felt nice from the first second I was there. Nara feels more laidback and green than his big sister , Kyoto. This journey is leading me to smaller cities each time.

For my first experience of Nara i’m going to “Onwa” vegan café located 5 min away from the JR Nara station. And what a great way to open this “Nara episode”.

Welcome to “Onwa” !

This café have a lot of personality. Actually there is a story behind each componant of this place. After long conversations with “Yosuke” ,the owner , I’m realising how unique is this café. Yosuke is an old designer. He basically created all this place from scratch.

Look , he even made the glasses by himself ! I really enjoyed just being inside. You could feel the charisma and the uniqueness of that café. I’m always fascinated to see how people manage to create spaces that are authentic to who their are inside. Yosuke is an artist. Time to grab the chopsticks for some food now.
Today I went for the Vegan set menu. As the name says it was composed of a few dishes .

The first round was a mix of : salad with vegan dressing , a type of tofu , pickled veggies and a “hachis parmentier ” vegan style. I have no words to describe how good this was. Each veggie was hight quality and full of taste. Everything homemade and fresh. Yosuke picks organic products from local farmers. He also avoid buying any food that are not ethical for the animals/planet. This Yosuke was a cool Japanese. You could feel that he was an alternative guy. A different way of thinking and living which I found inspiring. All of this could be perceived in the café he created.

For the second round It was freshly made onigiri with a seaweed pickles paste and a pickled cherry. Again this was wonderful. I repeat myself but the ingredients here was high quality. This makes a huge difference. The last ingredient is the Soul which was definitely here. You can have the best ingredients in the world but if dont put any Soul in your cooking it will never taste good.

Last round veggie tempura. It was composed of chili , eggplant , mushroom , and sweet potatoe. It also came with a Matcha salt. This was wonderfull again. Simple but with a lot of flavors and healthy.

I couldn’t stop here , this was too good. I wanted to see what will be the next suprise. So I went for a dessert .

This is a Matcha gelato. Again freshly made with an italian machine. This was bliss. Yosuke doesnt like to use sugar or oil in his cooking. For the sweetness of the gelato he used brown sugar from Okinawa island.

“Onwa” was an experience I have to say. Meeting Yosuke and his Cuisine was very inspiring to me. I felt that this café is the extension of the owner’s Soul. A cool place. A place that breath authenticity and values. Make sure you visit him if you intend a trip to Nara. The café is slighly hidden and that’s why it’s a gem.

After almost 3 hours indulging myself it was time to find my hotel in Nara. I went for something different this time. A hidden heaven in the middle of the massive Nara park.
But first you’ll have to walk to get there. On the ways you’ll meet thousand of deers. Theses guys are so cute.

The deers are litteraly everywhere in the park. They are not scared of humans and will often come to say hello.

Some even try to get some “souvenirs” in the shops.

Nara park feels like the land of Deers. And hidden at the far end of that park you’ll find  “The Deers Park Inn” , a cosy nest in the wildnerness. This isn’t just a place to sleep it’s an experience on his own. You are basically in the middle of Nature , surrounded by deers. A good place to recharge your batteries  away from the noise. I can only recommand this hotel which has a lot of charisma. I paid 48 euro per night which is slightly more expensive than the other hotels in Nara but this is nothing like a normal hotel.
My new home for a few days. It reminds me of theses Scandinave designs. The hotel is made only with wood. Very organic vibe , love it.

Time to explore the surroundings to see what Nara has to offer.

The first impression is that Nara is very peaceful and green. It feels like Kyoto but in much more relaxed. I feel that this place will be great to experience the temples. Be aware that some temples are popular and therefore can be crowded so choose your visit time wisely.
Photo shooting next to a temple.

After some recommantions from the Deers Inn staff , i’m heading toward the Nigatsudo Hall , apparently a magical site for sunset.

 

The stairway to heaven , the Nigatsudo Hall.
The view of Nara from up there was stunning. This was not crowded and mostly local people were here. I have been recommanded this place a few times by Japaneses. It makes it even more special. But the real magic started when the sun was no longer here.
The lights all around the temple gave a magical feel. This was one of the most magical moment I had in Japan so far. Make sure you stay at least one night in Nara to be able to experience this transition from day to night.

Going down the temple you will find streets that hold strong memory of the past. You can feel being in another timeline here. A precious moment this was.

 

On the way to downtown I got supprised by the Kohfuku Temple. Since a fews days there is a light show on the temple.

This was stunning. It gaves a mysterious vibe to this temple. There is also some ambient music in the background. Great atmosphere but I was so hungry , now heading to downtown streets for dinner.

Night souvenirs shops on the ways.

Nara feels much quieter that what I’ve seen before. I enjoyed walking in the old street at night. For dinner I went to “LBK craft” , a western style pub with many local craft beers and dining options. The food was good with many choices and also pretty cheap. Nice atmosphere even thought it felt more English than Japanese. This was the all point I think.

Back to the hotel after a long walk in the park. Of course it was pitch black but I had a frontal lamp so no worries.  The total immersion in Nature.

Little oasis of warmth in the middle of the park.

I’m suprised by how nice is Nara. This city is very relaxing and has great temples to experience. I’m glad i’m staying here a few nights. Nara feels already healing to me.

Oyasumi ! Good night.