|
|
|
“Todai-ji, the largest wooden building in the world, home to a very big Buddha and the hole to Nirvana” |
After a nostalgic couple of plane trips (think 14 hours of original Super Mario Brothers and Tetris) and a four hour stop over in Malaysia in between, I arrived at Kansai airport, Osaka to be greeted by my dear older sister... and her odd former boyfriend who had apparently followed her to the airport, nice start.
After shaking off the stalker, we caught a bus and a train and were at Jasmine's apartment. A quick nap was required and then off on a tour of Sakarai, the small town Jas lived in, first her office, located in a shopping mall, then the train station, the video shop and that was Sakarai.
A quiet dinner in and early night had us up early for a big day in Nara. First a stroll through the streets and a giggle at the much over used Engrish on signs, jumpers, bags, anything, a standout example was a large sign over an urban wear shop; "Your one stop hip hop shop, Fuckin' cool." After mandatory photos of said sign, we walked to Nara Park and wandered through various temples, such as Todai-ji, the largest wooden building in the world, home to a very big Buddha and the hole to Nirvana - a tunnel about four feet long, a foot high and half as wide carved through the diameter of one of the huge poles supporting the roof. As I waited my turn it began to look more like a portal to scrapped knees for the dozen or so school kids who were yanked through by their teacher in under a minute flat. More walking around the park, deer feeding and charitable donations to several monks (who were not forth-coming with the blessings) and we were back on a train and heading to Shinsaibashi, Osaka for an evening of shopping and Maragritas at a quaint Mexican restaurant.
previous travel blog entry
Would you like to comment or ask a question?
Sign up for a free account, or sign in (if you're already a member).