Nara: Tōdai-ji Temple

On Saturday, I went with my Japanese speaking partner to Nara, Japan. Nara is a city located about an 90 minutes away from Hirakata Station. You can get there by going from Hirakata to Kyoto, and then on to Nara. For more details on how to get around by train, I recommend this website.

Nara has a wonderful downtown, replete with lovely buildings and shops. There were many foreigners there, but the shops didn't look geared for tourists specifically - they were shops for Japanese and foreigner alike. While waiting for her friends to arrive, we walked around and I shot this panorama at an intersection.




It's not my best one, for sure, but it was shot quickly and handheld, and it seems to be viewable! Do you see the powerlines overhead? They do not often bury cables in Japan; if an earthquake occurs and snaps a line underground, it's a lot harder to find and repair.

Our next stop was at Tōdai-ji Temple (東大寺), in the park. This world's tallest wooden structure houses a large golden-colored Buddha inside. This statue is referred to simply as daibutsu (大仏) and is the world's largest Buddha Vairocana statue. The structure used to be much taller, but it's on its third iteration; the temple has burned down twice before, and it was last rebuilt sometime in the 1700s. The temple is wonderfully and deceptively big. You don't realize its immensity until you've walked inside.

Also worthy of note are the large wooden columns that support the structure. One has a hole carved out at its base, and it's just big enough for a man to fit through. There was a line of about 6-10 people waiting to go through, and each one had their one-minute of fame as they made there way to the other side. Supposedly, you are reborn once you pass through, or so I was told.



So there you have it. This was my trip to Nara! I had a wonderful time.