Nara

The next morning, my mouth still watering when I think of last night’s beef, I travel to Osaka's Namba station and board the train to Nara. It’s a beautiful day and I’m ready for more temples. Nara was Japan’s first capital city, founded in the 8th century and it contained many great monuments to Buddha before Kyoto even existed. Chief among Nara’s remaining structures is the great Buddha hall of Todai-ji [pictured], the largest wooden building in the world and home to the fifteen metre-tall Buddha Vairocana.

I start my walk at Kofuku-ji, under the shadow of its five storey pagoda before continuing on into Nara Park. The park is famous for its sika deer (regarded as messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion) and there are a number of them around the grounds of Kofuku-ji. Until I reach the tourist hotspot of Todai-ji, the full extent of the deer population is kept hidden, but - drawn to the tourists with their pre-package deer food - vast numbers of them mingle with people outside the temple. Most of the deer had their antlers trimmed at the recent festival I barely missed, but some specimens still exhibit impressive headgear and on one occasion I find myself in a quiet side street, face-to-face with a large stag. He passes nonchalantly by and I – glancing briefly at the sharp antlers - do (almost) the same. Apparently the Shinto gods had nothing to say to me today.

The Daibutsuden of Todai-ji, like so many of Japan’s monuments, comes complete with a lead-up that is pregnant with anticipation. The golden horns of the Buddha’s hall - just visible above the outer wall- catch the sunlight and guide you in like a beacon. The air is thick with incense even outside the hall and is almost viscous once inside. The whole scene drips with temple atmosphere and the only possible distraction is the animated monks selling souvenirs and postcards. The Buddha, with fingers the size of a human being, is an incredible statue even though very little of the original remains, having lost its hands and, more than once, its head to numerous fires and earthquakes since 1180. On my way out, I buy a Maneki Neko (lucky beckoning cat) in the hope that it is extra lucky, coming from such a hub of spirituality.

I spend the rest of the afternoon wandering the eastern hills, admiring the view from the terrace at Nigatsu-do and then making my way south to the shrines of Tamukeyama Hachimangu and Kasuga Taisha, before looping back around to the five storey pagoda and basking in the sun by Saruawa-ike, taking my lead from the numerous turtles perched on rocks there. Nara is an easy and entirely worthwhile day trip from Osaka and I board the train back to Namba with fond memories and lots of photos.