Travel With Kids: Nara, Japan-Day 3

After two days of exploring Osaka we boarded the EF bus and headed up to the smaller city of Nara.  Even I had heard a little bit about Nara, especially the revered deer that bow to people.  I was ready to get up there to see them, especially if we found some relief from the heat and humidity (which we didn’t).  But it was great to be riding the bus and see more of Japan (lot of tunnels).  Nara would not disappoint me!  Here we go:

Kasuga-taisha Shinto Shrine (Nara Deer Park)

The Kasuga-Taisha Shrine is Nara’s most famous shrine, established at the same time as the city and known for its distinctive lanterns.  Legends speak of the main deity’ connection to the deer, which have been protected throughout the centuries and are synonymous with this shrine.  The lanterns that make this shrine famous have been donated by people from all over, while the shrine was under the protection and favor of the powerful Fujiwara family clan for a time in it’s history.

We were lucky to go to this shrine first, before there were hordes of people.  It was early enough not to be stifling hot and quiet enough to understand the calm perfection in some of the sand craftings and carefully done rock work.  We didn’t get too far into this shrine, but needless to say, I didn’t understand its significance until I have time to do more research on it.  Here’s my story in pictures:

Todai-ji  (Buddhist Temple Complex)

Todai-ji is a very large and very old Buddhist Temple in Nara, Japan.  The site houses the largest bronze Buddha statue in the world, the Buddha Vairocana…or done in Vairocana style.  There’s ALOT of original and old history at this site, some of it not reconstructed over the ages but actually original and still available for all to see.

First, the view is dominated by the Great Buddha Hall, which was the largest wooden building in the world until 1997.  The current Great Buddha Hall was built in the 1700’s and officially dedicated in 1709.  One interesting fact is that the current building is 20% smaller than the previous hall, which burned down.  More interesting is some of the pictures you can see in the shrine area about various ceremonies held on the grounds…and how many thousands of monk and dignitaries can fit into the area.  Just amazing to see thousands of robed monks on the ground that you’re walking around on, trying to avoid the selfie-stick crowd.

If you had looked at a website or a map of the Great Buddha Hall before entering with all the people also entering the hall…and the actual worshippers, you would notice that the Buddha is sitting up and is surrounded by four other giant Gods (statues).  I didn’t get them all in pics and missed their names, but I tried to get the pics I could as I was jostled along around in a circular pattern around the Buddha.

Here’s more of my story in pics:

The Great South Gate, pictured above, is epic.  Built at the end of the 12th Century and never rebuilt, it’s been conserved and preserved carefully but never completely rebuilt.  Inside the gate are the two huge statues of the Kongorikishi, named Ungyo and Agyo.  Interestingly , the two huge dancing figures had never been moved moved out of their original niches until 1988, when they were moved in order to be worked on by art conservators.

Nara Palace Site Historic Park

After most of the morning into afternoon exploring both Shinto and Buddhist historic sites and temples, we were able to visit the site of one of Japan’s ancient capitols, the Nara Palace Site Historic Park.  This is a massive complex stretching for several miles in one direction and we were not able to actually walk the ground, but I did get to find one of the museums so I could get a grasp on the overall site.  Interestingly, this site in Nara was only used for approximately 74 years, after which administrative control was moved to Heian.  The original buildings were either moved, destroyed by fire or left to collapse.  After being used for agricultural for years, the site was rediscovered and restoration work began in the 1970’s.  Most of the buildings are not original but are based on original locations.

Taiko Lab (Taiko Drum Lessons, Osaka)

After spending most of the day in Nara seeing Nara Deer Park, the Shinto and Buddhist Temples, the site of one of the capitals of Japan and the massive footprint of the original Nara Palace, we boarded the bus back to Osaka.  But we really didn’t know where we were going next or what we were in for.  The Taiko Lab is a business that teaches Japanese (and others like us) how to play the traditional Taiko Drums.  It was IMPRESSIVE how quickly the young instructor was able to teach a group of not-really musically talented strangers (in decent English) how to play the Taiko drums and sound pretty decent.  Then we were given a chance to watch the instructors play.  Wow, it was really impressive to watch the two instructors play.  They were able to clearly exude the power, strength and timing it takes to play the drums well.  Here’s some pics of that class:

One thing worth mentioning is that the Taiko Lab is literally under a six-lane road and subway line.  To get there we crossed the six lane road, followed our guide (Shige-son) down a random walkway under a subway line and then through the tunnel under the subway line.  When we popped out into daylight again, we were below all the traffic hustle in an entirely different area, complete with a school on one side and shops on the other, under the roadway/subway line.  It’s a perfect place for the Taiko Lab….but they had a really professional setup, completely sound proofed.  But it was a  pretty interesting walk to get there-

Here we are, just after exiting the tunnel portion on the way back to cross the highway to get to the bus:

Traditional Japanese Dinner

After a really, really long day seeing Nara and then the crazy energy it took to learn to play Taiko Drums, dinner sounded really good.  Shige didn’t disappoint as he guided us to a restaurant that could handle a group our size and get food out quickly.  On this night, we were treated to a traditional Japanese meal.  We thoroughly enjoyed the food and loved the presentation.  After dinner, it was definitely time to get some sleep, as we were exhausted from the walking around in the heat and humidity.

Here’s the dinner, it was delicious:

Things to know….if I could do this day again: 

-I would spend more time at the Buddha Complex and appreciate the really ancient history there.  I felt a bit rushed on the day we went but now after doing a bit more research, so I’d like to spend more time there. 

-The deer around Nara are sacred.  The Japanese know this but some of the visitors don’t understand or respect them.  The deer WILL try to eat ice cream and sweets right from you but should not be touched if possible.  Don’t let kids chase the deer. 

-Nara has good walking trails and good signage.  I was amazed to be walking through regular Japanese neighborhoods just to get to some of these major sites.  

-Research a bit to understand before you go. Wish I had done this, as I’m doing now for this article, I would have had a better understanding of what I was looking at and its significance.  

-If you have a chance, DON’T skip the Taiko Drum session…it was rad. 

-Although this felt like one of our longest and busiest days, I enjoyed the history and smaller scale of Nara.  

Ok, that’s all, I’ve gotta get this post published, more next Saturday. 

Here’s some of our other stories about this trip:

Travel With Family- A Summer Trip To Japan- 1

Travel With Family- Osaka, Japan- Day 1

Travel With Kids: Osaka, Japan- Day 2

Back to Japan…in a most unexpected way- By The HelmsMistress