Deers+Buddha=Big Fun in Nara!

The night of the Wakayama Orientation, more than half of the new ALTs were staying at Leilani's place in Wakayama City. The next day, Rose, Megan, Tristan, Leilani and I ventured off to explore the historic city of Nara. Nara is another one of the great Kansai cities. It is a former capital of Japan (710-784) and its claim to fame is that it houses the largest Buddha in the world in the largest wooden building in the world, the Daibutsu-den at Todaiji. Aside from the Buddha, it is famous for its deer which are supposed to be sacred. Supposedly, they just run free all over Nara Park. So, armed with some train directions, we headed into Osaka to change trains and then a little further east to Nara. The trains were easy enough to navigate except at one point when I thought we should board a train only to be saved by Tristan's hunger attack.

Tristan's a hungry man. Thanks for saving us from taking the wrong train!!

Upon arrival, we got directions to Todaiji from the tourist information centre in the train station. Since we were still hungry that morning, we hit up Bikkuri Ramen (Surprise Ramen!) next to Nara Station. It was good,cheap and fast and now we had fuel for our day of sightseeing.

We wandered down the main shopping street in Naramachi leading towards the sights and I spotted many quaint cafes that I would love to linger in one day. The first sight we came to was Kofukuji with its three and five story pagodas. Near the entrance of this temple, we met our first deer. We called it our training deer as it was very docile. Silly us though, we still acted very timid towards it. Here is a picture of me with it.
Me with the "training deer"
The entrance to Kofukuji and its majestic pagoda

Since we had already warmed up with the training deer, now it was time to mingle with the rest of the deer. The best way to make friends with them is to purchase crackers called sembei for 150 yen ($1.40 Cdn) and then try your best to not to get attacked by hordes of deer. For the most part, this went well. But watch out for the deer with horns. They can be vicious and being poked by their horns definitely hurts! As Tristan found out later that day, you gotta watch your back, because a deer surprised him at a vending machine. It was pretty funny to watch that sneak attack since Tristan was a little jumpy to say the least.Look! I am calmly feeding a deer

After laughing at our (mis)adventures with some of the deer, we made our way to Todaiji. Of course, there were more deer lining the route to the main attraction in Nara but there were also lots of omiyage and food stalls. I also spotted a begging monk. He looked very serene. The Daibutsu-den is absolutely amazing. It's hard to imagine how such a large building was made pre-modern construction techniques. The Big Buddha is awe-insipiring as well. The Daibutsu-den at Todaiji
The Big Buddha

It seems that the path to enlightenment is tangible after all. It is in the Daibutsu-den in Nara. I saw a lot of adults and children trying to wedge their way through a small hole in a wooden beam. I stopped to look at this madness. After consulting another tourist and my guidebook, there is method to the madness. People crawl through a hole which is the same size as one of the Big Buddha's nostrils to gain enlightenment for the year. The path to enlighment ends here

On the way back to the train station, we found a beautiful park with a lake and rowboats. It was so picturesque. Then, we spotted a maiko out of the blue. It looked like she was on her way to a party but stopped to oblige us tourists. This was the first maiko I spotted! It was really exciting.
Scenes of Nara Park
On her way to a party?

So far, Nara is my favourite city I have visited in Kansai. I feel at peace in this beautiful city. I hope to visit again in the fall and spring.

O-Bon

JETs are lucky to arrive in August as this is the time when most people celebrate O-Bon. So, we get to experience this right off the bat. O-Bon is a Buddhist tradition where most people believe that their ancestors come home to visit. So, they too return to home to prepare the welcome for their ancestors and meet with their relatives. At my BOE, some days it appeared like we had a skeletal staff due to O-Bon. Other BOE staff stayed at home to prepare their homes by making food and cleaning (osoji) while others took time off to travel to their ancestral homes around the prefecture or in Japan.

Another o-bon tradition is the bon odori (obon dance). Emi took Sarah and I to Dojoji Temple for the bon odori. We had to walk up a darkened path and in the centre of the temple grounds, the only light was coming from the stage in the middle.

Stage with drums at the Bon Odori
Little kids were playing janken (rock, paper, scissors) and then after a while they started the dance lesson. Two dance teachers led the participants around in a circle and taught us some of the dances. Then, a lady who teaches in my town invited us to join in the BBQ which we gladly did. The yakitori was delicious. Around the BBQ, I met a couple of people with Richmond connections including one who may be related to one of my friends. I was really excited to talk to him. Small world and his name is also Tamaki-san but a different family than the 'first person' I think. BBQ at the bon odori; Tamaki-san and I at the fesival
With our new found energy from the drinks and yakitori, we attempted the dancing. It was so much fun and I felt at peace while dancing around this beautiful temple in the dark. Later on, the bunraku music started and the men started signing a song about Hidakagawa. The music sounded wonderful in this traditional sitting. The whole atmosphere was hauntingly beautiful.
Dancing at the Bon OdoriAn elementary school teacher wearing the traditional Hidakagawa-cho yukata and I
On Monday, Kumashiro-san, a lovely lady who works for my BOE, invited me to her home to meet her family and have a BBQ. She has a traditional-style home up in the mountains of my town. She explained that a lantern is hung outside the home to guide the spirits back home and a window is kept open. At her window, an offering of fruit and rice were there. The lantern lights the way home
There is a small temple, that I ride past every day to work. During Obon, the temple was decorated with lanterns and many people went there to pray and visit graves. At night, it was a beautiful sight to see the lanterns all glowing. Personally, I find this to be on of the loveliest traditions since it brings together the whole family and people come back from the cities to the more rural areas like where I am living. Read more about it here.