Japan-DAY 1

After travelling just over 24 HOURS from door to door, Mom and I arrived at Reuben's home in Osaka. On Friday, just 16 hours after getting to Reuben's we were off on tour - Reuben says we told him we would "hit the ground running" and he held us to that!!

We took the train to Nara, about an hour from Osaka. Nara was the first capital of unified Japan, from 710 A.D. It is famous for its ancient temples, and semi-tame deer, which in pre-Buddhist times, were considered messengers of the gods.

Now, there are about 1200 of them living in and around Nara Park begging food from tourists and knocking over little children.


This is Yoshi feeding one of the deer.








You can buy biscuits to feed the deer, and they have been conditioned to bow before getting a handout.















Todai-ji Temple



Here, Reuben, Mom and Yoshi are in front of the Nandai-mom, an enormous gate containing two fierce looking Nio guardians. These wooden figures were carved in the 13th century and are some of the finest in all Japan, if not in all the world. They were recently restored. Below is a picture of a foot belonging to one of the guardians - the big toe measures approximately 1 foot high.