Bambi Mania

Last weekend I visited the ancient capital of Nara. Nara was the capital of Japan during the Nara period (makes sense doesn't it?). Before going to Nara I was told that many parts of Nara were quite rural and that there were deer. "Be careful when feeding the deer, they'll harass you for food!"
"Sure, okay!" I thought. Deer, in the middle of the city. Much to my surprise however, there were deer. And lots of them. The deer were quite serene and obviously very accustomed to seeing people. Vendors offered visitors crackers that could be purchased for 100 yen that they could then feed to the deer. The deer, obviously smarter than your average deer, knew this and would wait around the vendors for visitors offering food.
The walk from the station to Toudaiji temple was about 1.5km, at least according to the sign (seemed about twice as long to me). Before arriving to the main entrance, one could easily spot the massive structure from several hundred yards out. While I am unsure of the age of the temple entrance, it was quite well-kept and appeared to be in quite excellent condition.

Being a particularly popular tourist destination, visitors from all over Japan and even the world were all present in large droves. Yet, perhaps the most interesting part of Toudaiji was inside the main temple.
A large statue of Buddha awaits visitors just past the steps of the entrance. The immense size of the statue was quite awe inspiring. Also inside the temple were smaller statues of deities (whose names I do not know). Although smaller in size, they were just as awe inspiring.









These guys are keeping an eye out for intruders.















Some random pictures
Pretty scary looking guy, huh?
This Pagoda was just adjacent to the temple.








Ok, so by now you're probably wondering... "So you're traveling all over Japan, what about your dorm, your school, are you even going to class???" Yeah, yeah... so I've neglected to talk about those for some time. I mean, after all I am studying abroad. Next week I plan to talk a little about the school, my dorm, and yes... those things that get in my way of exploring Japan (said: classes). More pics on the way too!

Check my Flickr page for more photos.




*Note: I was bit late with this post, but I plan to include my weekly updates before the beginning of the week from this point on.