Second day

Second and last day in Nara. I woke up early with the first lights of the day. “The Deers Park Inn” is such a great place to experience the wildlife. The hotel being in the forest you dont have to walk far to experience that glorious nature. Such a nice way to start a day.
Baby deer along the path.

 

The Kasuga Taisha Shrine is located 5 min  away from the hotel. The good thing about sleeping nearby a site like this one is that you can have it for yourself in the morning. It was 8 am , the forest was slowly waking up.

A beautiful and natural way to slowly wake up. This place was mystical.

After some recommandation I went to a small temple a bit far away. When local people give you advices about places you can be pretty sure it will be nice and authentic. A lesson i’m learning more and more while travelling is : “the more you open up to others , the more they will open up to you”. As a result you will end up sharing great moments and also having new local recommandation where to go later. When you travel alone like i’m doing , this point is essential I think. If you just follow your own plan you will miss out on a lot of things. Stay flexible and let the unknown suprise you 🙂

I’m crossing a quiet residential area toward the Byakugoji Temple.
You’ll have to climb some stairs but at the top you’ll be reward by a nice view of Nara.

This is Byakugoji.
At first the temple have nothing spectacular but what’s interesting here is the location of that temple. Located pretty high you have a nice flow of air coming here. It’s feels fresh and open. It’s also super quiet. I have only met one Japanese so if you feel like having a rest this temple will be good.

Time to head back to Nara Park with our “Dear Deer friends”.
The road between sections of the Park.

Hey man, fancy a little drink ?

 

In the Park you can buy Deer biscuits for 150 yen (to give to the deers not to eat^^). I’m not quite sure what they are made off but I guess something natural to them. Well I hope that. So I bought a few.

Time to share some love with our dear friends.
Once you baught thoses biscuit , be prepared to be chassed by a group of Deers. They will go nuts.

Like with theses guys.
The Park have a very laid back atmosphere. People come here to enjoy the Deers and it feels like a big playground. You can also enjoy seasonal sweet food and ice cream. Certain areas of the park can be crowded at certain times. If you dont mind that , great but for me it’s sometimes overwhelming. Luckily there is many hidden parts in the Nara park where you can enjoy Nature.

Nara is not only about giving biscuits to lovely creatures. It’s also about visiting temples and the following one was mind blowing. Let’s go to one of the oldest temple in Japan. The Todaiji temple.

First we enter a wooden gate.

And then we enter the main site of Todaiji. This temple was epic. Look at the size.

Pictures wont give it justice but this gives you a good feel of how big it is. This is the biggest temple I have ever seen. You may wonder why is it so big ? Come inside and you’ll know.

Say hello to Buddha. Height : 15 meters.
This was truely mind blowing. The size if the temple , the size of this Buddha and the old woods make this feel very special. I’m fascinated to see what humans can make with their hands. How spiritual devotion pushs people to build insanely big structures. If you have to go to only one temple in Nara go to Todaji , be sure that you will feel like nothing next to it.

Todaiji is one of the biggest wood structure in the entire world. It has been damaged two times. It is said that this temple lost 33% of his size with reconstructions. I cann’t imagine how big this was.

It was time for a lunch after that.
Somedays you feel pretty tired. Travelling around can do that , especially if you dont allow yourself to rest properly. Today I was feeling low in energy but I’ve found a place that actually gave me a lot energy.  Say hello to “Nino” pizzaria.

This “Nino” was a character. He lived 1 year and half in Italy where he learned to make pizza. This man was the most friendly Japanese I have met so far. He was putting such a good vibe to this place. Be prepared not only to eat amazing food but also to share great moments.
A picture of us captured by Nino.
There is also more suprises but I dont want to spoil anything. Please just go 🙂
This really energized me. My heart was feeling alive after this very human experience.

I strolled down the shopping streets to see how life is there.

Here you’ll find a shop called Elcaflora. The clooths are made by an artist that draw psychedelic art to make the clooths. This was so cool. Going into the shop felt like a museum. If I had more money to spend I might have baught a t-shirt.

The main shopping street had a popular atmoshpere. I enjoyed that. It was simple and authentic.
Nara also have nice cafés , shops and restaurants. The city center isn’t too big which makes it walkable.

Nara is a cool city.

Where Tokyo was vibrant , Kyoto , gorgeous , Nara is laid back and fresh.
I enjoyed this vibe. I have met some incredible Japanese people there. I dont know if it’s just luck of if it’s because Nara as a different vibe. I think all this wonderful nature around can only give great benefits for the people that lives in it. It’s definitely a place you should go to. Most travellers will go to Nara only for a day trip but to me Nara magics really starts at  dusk. When the park start to empty you will be able to connect at a deeper level with Nature. Also staying at the “Deer Park Inn” will allow you a more  intimate experience with that nature. I enjoyed walking back to the hotel in the dark. You could hear all the wildlife around. A nice transition from the previous destinations. Nara is a place that I will go back to.

Tomorrow will be the start of a new journey in a completely different place. The vibrant city of Osaka is my next destination.

Take care lovely people !

Tomorrow
Ashita あした