Boxing Day in Nara

Nara was the second stop on my trip and it was a very scenic and interesting city to visit. Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 AD for only 75 years, but in those 75 years they built a lot of really amazing temples, pagodas, etc. Also this is where all the deer get to roam around free!! There are about 1200 deer roaming the Nara-koen area which is a large park where most of the tourist attractions are located. Their status in Nara is as 'National Treasures', so it's illegal to try and hunt them. It says in my lonely planet that in pre-Buddhist times they were thought of as messengers of the gods, there's your history lesson for the day. Anyhoo, they're cute as hell, but also very aggressive when it comes to getting some treats. This first picture is my bambi pic, this little deer was so cute I followed it around until I got the perfect shot. I've become deer paparazzi. I think it thought it was getting something out of the deal, but it was sadly mistaken, no cookie for you. By this point in the afternoon I had learned my lesson about trying to feed them, it's a dangerous business let me tell you.

Well I started boxing day by waking up early again, not buddhist praying early, but early enough. I headed to a 5 story pagoda that was just a short walk away from my hotel, and that's where I met my Japanese friend. He offered to take my picture infront of it (another picture I'm not uploading because I look like a tool), anyhoo he had some deer treats in his bike basket and gave me some to feed the deers. It was early in the morning so there wasn't very many tourists around yet, so feeding them was a pleasant experience. He asked me where I was headed and I told him the park. Well he took it upon himself to become my offical guide or "guido" as he put it. It was difficult understanding him at first because my Japanese is really bad and he only had a little English, but at first I thought he was going to show me how to get to the park and then bugger off. But he wanted to show me all around. Which turned out to be very handy because he showed me more of the park then I would have seen had it just been by myself trying to read my little tourist map.

The first place we walked to is this pretty pond where we tried feeding ducks but they were sleeping still and weren't into breakfast just yet. Next we went to Kasuga Taisha shrine which is lined with hundreds of lanterns that they light during the lantern festival. Also this shrine is supposed to be a good place to pray for love, so we'll see if my insense and candle offering comes to any effect in the next couple of months...med student...This was where having a guide really came in handy because before this I really didn't know what was the proper protocol for praying at temples. The Japanese are all about ceremony in every part of their lives, and practicing their religion is no exception. At each temple there was a different way of doing things. At one I had to clap twice, bow and then clap once more. At another I had to ring a bell two times and then bow once. I also didn't know how much money to put in the little offering boxes. In Koya San I lit a candle but didn't give any money which is a major no no. Oh Lindsay, stupid "guyjing' (foreigner in Japanese). But this time around I did it right. And I learned how to light the insense. You're supposed to give a small offering of money (like $100 yen or $1 Canadian) then stick it in the insense pit where the bottom of it lights it, then you take it out and turn it up side down where it burns. After that you pray.

Next we headed up the hill to where there is a large bell, and a temple where on one end there were tables to sit and free green tea to enjoy and on the other you could hear monks praying. So we sat for a bit and he pulled out some mandarin oranges and an apple and we had a little snack. (Oh the randomness of it all). After that we made it to the final main temple in the park the Todai-ji. This one is not free to go and look around, so this is where we said our goodbyes. He was my 'guido' for more than 2 hours, which was very kind of him.

Well at the entrance to this temple is a large gate that has sculptures of warriors protecting the area, and according to my tourist map some of the nicest pieces of art in Japan, but I totally walked past them and was oblivious to their existance...but I did get a nice black and white picture of it san the cool wooden sculptures. Ooops. The main hall of this temple complex is called the Daibutsu-den and it is the largest wooden building in the world. The draw is the large bronze buddha that has almost been destroyed many times by fires. Behind the buddha is a large wooden pillar with a hole in the middle that tourists try and squeeze through. The hole represents the size of the Buddha's nostril and it's believed that whomever can squeeze through gains enlightenment, it's just that easy! Well, I didn't try because it's a very tight fit, but I did see a small Japanese girl try, and it was very entertaining. She made it through so I guess she's now enlightened. Good for her.

After that I attempted to buy my own pack of deer biscuits from a vendor and feed the deer again. But at this point it was peak tourist time and the deer were ready to pounce on any naive tourist, aka me. It's the fat ones that get you, not my small cute little bambi. Anyways about 2 seconds after the biscuits were in my hands those deer had swarmed around me and were ready for their attack. The ones behind me head butted me, and the ones in the front started biting my jacket. One bite gave me a little bruise. Well I freaked out and frantically tried to untie the ribbon around the cookies and once they were free I threw most of them on the ground and ran to the side. I managed to kind of nicely feed one with my last cookie, but by that point they no longer looked so warm and cuddly that my heart just wasn't into it. Those deer are dangerous man. That's why their antlers are shaved off because those hungry deer could do some major harm with them.

-Lindsay