Trippin’
Friday 31st October
What a day! I spent the larger part of the day in Nara, while I spent the larger part of the evening in a tiny food bā (bar) just around the corner of my apāto (apartment).
This morning, after leaving the apāto, I went for the nearest JR station and took a train that was headed directly for Nara. It took a while before the concrete jungle started to recede and a more rural countryside emerged. Though, mind you, there’s buildings everywhere along the way. Vast emptiness is an abstract term when you’re around Ōsaka (which Nara also counts towards).
Once I got to Nara, I got off the train, ate some lunch I had brought with me and went inside the Tourist Information to ask for a city map and to see if there was a bicycle rental close by (which it was, yay! – ¥700, about €5, for the day).
And I was on my way to Nara National Park, home of the many temples and shrines. First I went to the Tōdai-ji temple, where there’s a huge golden Buddha statue. Very impressive. And also very crowded with school children. And tame deer, again.
I walked around quite a bit snapped many pictures and finally was on my way again, on to the next site, the Nigatsudo hall. More walking around and taking pictures of the breathtaking scenery….. From here I had a wonderful view of the area because it was quite a steep climb to get there. And again, more loads of school children and tame deer. Did I mention that the place is rather touristy what with all the vendor stalls where you can get cheap souvenirs?
Lastly I decided I wanted to visit Kasuga shrine. This shrine was mostly colored in the famous red / orange color. And you’ve guessed it, many tame deer, though hardly any school children. 😉
It was getting late in the afternoon, I had to return the bicycle at 18:00h and my feet didn’t do the walk so well anymore. xD So, back to the station it was.
I took a little detour and got somewhat lost in the park. Many, many, many (!) tame deer. But with a little help from a) the pocket WiFi, b) my smartphone and c) my external battery pack, I got by. This makes navigating all day a breeze!
While heading back, I accidentally stumbled upon Kofukuji temple. This is where a 5 story tower in the iconic design stands on the temple grounds.
After that I apparently criss crossed a bit around town on my bicycle, but I ended back at the station on time. And I was able to do some shopping for groceries, before the train heading home arrived.
When I got back to the apāto, I took a short break before going out again. I wanted to find a nice restaurant where I could spend the evening and it turned out there was one, just a couple of blocks away. It was a little food bā where you could get grilled food on a stick. I decided to try various things to still my hunger. Totemo oishii desu (very tasty)!
At one point, curiosity got the better of one of the guys who were preparing dinner. He asked me carefully where I’m from. So when I answered Oranda, they appeared amazed. And so the talk was on. They asked whether I knew Snaida (Wesley Sneijder, a sakkā player, a soccer player, for the Dutch national sakkā team) or Bam Basten (Marco van Basten, a former player of the Dutch national sakkā team). Having a conversation about sakkā, which I almost have no interest in, while in Japan, is almost weird. But hey, I’m in Japan.
Later we talked some more about personal interests, languages, traveling and such. This was quite a pleasant conversation and I’d say an evening well spent. At the end, I asked to pay and said goodbye. It had been quite the experience, what with the guys shouting orders to each other and shouting while acknowledging orders and such. Such enthusiasm! Outside, just after I left the restaurant, one of them, whom I had talked to the most, came out as well and explicitly, elaborately and gratefully said goodbye and wished me good luck on my travels. Nice. 🙂
On my way home, I walked around the neighborhood and saw many young girls sitting behind a counter of some small shop. And there was a stairway as well.. Curiosity got the better of me this time, so I tried to ask what that was all about. Turned out, I was in the middle of the red light district. grin