Day 5: Trip to Nara

After an hour-long train ride from Kyoto, we arrived in Nara, the ancient capital city. There are wild deer running around the entire city, as they are considered sacred in Nara. We visited the Kofukuji Buddhist temple, dedicated to the healing Buddha. In the attached museum, we could see Buddhist art treasures, including the 7-meter-tall Kannon with 1000 arms.

After a walk through the woods, we arrived at the Kasuga Taisha Shrine, famous for its many lanterns.

Next, we went to the Todaiji Temple with its 12-meter-tall bronze Buddha statue. It is said that if you can crawl through its nostril, you will reach paradise. Unfortunately, the nostril is not available, but you can climb through a hole of the same size in a pillar, which of course we tried.

On our way back to Kyoto, we stopped by the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is known for its hundreds of red torii gates. Here, we paid homage to the goddess of rice, sake, and prosperity.

We then took the train back to Kyoto, where we stayed overnight at a traditional Japanese inn called Ryokan. Here, you sleep on futons on the floor.