Japan - Daytrips to Himeji and Nara

Basing ourselves in Osaka allowed us to do a couple of daytrips to two of the most important historical areas in Japan – Himeji Castle and the ancient city of Nara. A quick one-hour train ride and a short walk brought us to Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The current castle was built in feudal-era Japan during the 1600’s. It survived bombings in WWII and was repaired in the 1950’s. They only let so many people in at a time, so there is usually a bit of a wait to get inside.

To tour inside the castle, you have to remove your shoes (you carry them in a little bag); this helps protect the wood floor and wooden staircases. Staff members really “herd” you through – it’s a one-way procession up and around several flights of stairs to the top floor. Then they urge you to keep moving and go back down so more people can come inside. Considering the wait to get in, we were a bit disappointed at the interior. There wasn’t really any furniture, and there was no explanation (at least not in English) of what daily life in a feudal Japanese castle would have been like.

Outside the castle is a defensive wall surrounded by a moat. Originally the castle had three moats but only the innermost one remains today. After waiting so long in line touring the castle, we did not want to wait in another line to go for the sampan boat ride.

So after the tourist crush of the castle, we took a leisurely walk through the series of nine tranquil gardens nearby instead. It was nice to get away from the throngs of people. Kokoen Gardens is actually a sister garden to the Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. (Phoenix and Himeji are Sister Cities).

The next day we packed up and headed to Nara, another short one-hour train ride from Osaka. Nara is an ancient capital of Japan; the Emperor lived here during most of the 8^th century AD before moving to Kyoto and then Tokyo. The area is also a UNESCO World Heritage site because of the many temples and shrines located here. The most important temple is the Todai-ji Buddhist Temple.

This massive building shelters the Daibutsu, a 1200-year-old bronze statue of the seated Buddha that is almost 50 feet tall.

In order to get into the temple area, you must walk past Komokuten, one of two enormous and fierce-looking wooden statues that stand guard near the Buddha.

Todai-ji is just one of several important temples and shrines in Nara. We did not have time to visit them all, but we did make sure to walk over to the Kasuga Taisha Shinto shrine, where we saw these beautiful bronze hanging lanterns.

Lanterns seem to be a theme at the Kasuga Taisha shrine. There are 3000 stone lanterns and each one is dedicated to a deity by a local citizen. The lanterns are set alight only during certain festivals in February and August each year.

Although the historical sites are a major attraction in Nara, many tourists also come here to feed the tame(-ish) sika deer. They roam freely throughout town.

The town sells special “deer crackers” that you can feed to them. Some of the deer have actually learned (or been trained) to bow their heads reverently in order to get a handout. They are protected by law, and there are more than 1200 deer scattered throughout the Nara complex; they are truly everywhere!