One does simply walk into Nara and avoid visiting the Daibutsu. We didn’t have any set plans for the day, per se, but they all involved wandering in the general direction of Todai-ji hall, and laughing at people being swarmed by deer.
It was actually really interesting for me to see the changes that have occurred. The main street heading to the temple area was completely revamped and glammed up. The shopping arcade (where we had previously purchased our guardian foo dog) was no longer on the edge of development, but now in the middle. And doubled in length.
We sauntered up to the first of the temple grounds, Nanen-do. On our first visit, most of this religious complex was merely ancient stone foundations soliciting funds for a building project. And now they were complete! As we toured the grounds, the kids were given some leftover deer crackers by a kind visitor who was leaving. So armed, I thrust them forth into the throng of…two deers! – that we could see. I think Rowan particularly enjoyed getting to feed a deer.
As we sauntered a bit further, we began to traverse Nara Deer Park. And the kids -really – got to see deer. Deer mauling foreign tourists. Deer mauling domestic tourists. Deer ganging up on children. Deer picking pockets. We sat an enjoyed the antics of people taking big stacks of deer food into a mob of animals and expecting the deer to politely queue.
We eventually moved on to Todai-ji. It has an early flowering cherry blossom tree right on the main walk up to the temple, which was nearly as popular as the Daibutsu. The Buddha statute was even more impressive than I remembered, and there seemed to be more things to see in the temple than previous.
Aside from the main hall, Jenn and I had never fully explored the entire area. But I cannot recall the reason why. So after exiting the main hall area, we picked a direction and wandered. My understanding is probably not comprehensive, but it seems like several shrines in the area were amalgamated under the ‘Todai-ji’ banner.
The one I enjoyed most was Nigatsu-do. It was situated up on a hill with a view overlooking the Todai-ji hall and gardens. Although there were visitors, it was not nearly as busy as the other areas, adding much to its serenity. Also it had a good roof and some benches, so we could wait out a bit of the rainstorm that rolled in.
However, with no signs of the rain abating, and sore feet in abundance, we decided to call our day adventure there and return home.