Nara and mt Koyo

DAY ONE

We travelled on from Kyoto to Nara; a town full of temples and deer. I'm not sure if there's a connection, but the deer are everywhere, have their own food (deer cakes), and get their own way. I assume Jane found it hilarious when I secretly put one of the deer cakes in her back pocket, and then watched the hordes of deer go after her ass. I did.

At the end of the deer infestation there was a GIANT Buddha in a really cool building (the biggest wooden structure in the world). The picture just shows it's gate house... And the deer problem.

Leaving this temple, we wandered on to find deer stalking us. I had to give in and feed one.

After the cake was eaten, he asked for more. I didn't have any so he sauntered off. I like to think we had a special bond, but he's probably forgotten about me by now. Jane still remembers me though, and won't abandon me at a moments notice.

DAY TWO

We set off on a three hour journey to mount Koyo; an important religious centre for Buddism. Half way through the train journey Jane didn't feel well, so abandoned me and went home. 

Mount Koyo is at the top of a mountain (pffff... 900m), but the temples,and in partular the cemetery, have remained the same for hundreds of years, though as the sighs kept reminding me the temples have been burnt down and rebuilt many times over the years, as it seems all Japanese important buildings have been. 

As I sat and ate my lunch of sushi and orange jelly in peace, a monk appeared to ring this giant bell continuously for what seemed like hours.

I left and instead found peace in the biggest zen garden in Japan. This is a garden formed from white sand that's been raked, and big stones. This garden 'shows' a dragon moving through the sand. The monks gave me some green tea, and what looked a lot like a deer cake, and then I was on my way.

Now before I sound weird, I don't usually enjoy graveyards, but this one was fairly special. It took me about an hour of walking through a 1300 year old forest containing gravestones from locals, generals, spiritual leaders, and strangly, CEOs to reach the hall of 10,000 lanterns.

There are very few people, and the trees are high, and cut out the majority of the light, so it feels very peaceful there. The further into the forest I went, the more special it felt so when I finally reached the hall, it was almost like a crescendo; a wooden hall with 10,000 lanterns in it, all burning continuously (some of them for 800 years now), with a thick mist of insence and monks chanting and swapping candles. In the basement, there were scores of shelves holding mini Budha statues with a corresponding number to match a latern. I wasn't sure what the connection was for, but couldn't help but admire the meticulous and almost scientific way they maintained their system.

While the walk in had been on the longer and less trodden path, I headed out down the 10 minute path. This was lined by corporations who has bought large plots for their VIP employees, with grand centrepieces and individual gravestones complete with business cards boxes (so they can keep track of who has been visiting). I was very glad to have down the other path first.

This was almost analogous of the Japanese society we had seen as a whole though; deeply traditional and spiritual, while now dominated by businesses.