Nara

During our stay in Kyoto, we took a day trip to Nara, the former capital of Japan. Nara is most known for its rich variety of cultural sites and the cute-yet-aggressive sacred deer that roam freely through the city. I was aware that we might see some of the deer while we were there, but I was unprepared for their presence, well, everywhere.

As we wandered through gracious pine-filled parks on our way to the Todai-Ji temple, we passed vendors selling stacks of thin, round wafers to feed to the omnipresent deer. We also passed signs depicting the most common ways you may be harassed by said deer: bite, kick, "butt” (head butt) and, my personal favorite, “knock down.” Despite the signs, I decided almost immediately that I should buy the wafers and feed the marauding deer, who were loitering near the vendor stands, waiting for lunch.

Within moments of unwrapping my paper sleeve of wafers, I was surrounded by deer. They began to look less cute and started to look menacing. A was videoing me at this point, laughing hysterically as I backed into a fence, dodging nips and nudges from the aggressive Bambis. They expertly separated me from my wafers and left immediately when the last was gone, which was kind of a relief.

After the deer encounter, we bought warm jasmine milk teas from a vending machine and ambled through the park to Todai-Ji. Until recently, the temple was the largest wooden structure by volume in the world. As we walked along the approach the temple loomed ahead of us, its massive tiled roof dominating the flat gray sky.

Incense hung in the air outside the entrance, and as I stepped beyond the wooden doors I was presented with the astonishing sight of the colossal bronze Buddha Daibutsuden. The Buddha sits at over 49’ tall with one giant palm facing outward, encouraging the viewer to abandon fear. A golden aura of sixteen 8’ tall buddha images surrounds its head. It was so incredible that I felt humbled to be able to see it in person.

We left Todai-Ji and made our way to Kasuga Taisha. Gravel crunched under our feet as we walked the wooded path up to the brightly painted orange temple. The stone lanterns that sparsely lined the path at first stood in dense formation as we approached the temple gates. Deer watched us impassively from amongst them.

Kasuga Taisha is famous for its massive collection of lanterns that have been donated by worshippers over the years. The temple was covered with them. Lanterns hung in single rows from the eaves of the buildings, then double rows, then dense clusters, like the drops of some giant golden chandelier.

Toward the end of the path we reached the entrance to a building that was covered with a heavy curtain. I pushed the curtain aside and walked into a small room that was illuminated by the dazzling light of dozens of golden lanterns. I felt like I had accidentally stepped into another world. The ornate windows of the lanterns cast lacy patterns of light through the otherwise perfect darkness of the room. They hung from floor to ceiling, creating an ethereal enveloping feeling of light. It was such a surreal and unexpected experience.

We left Kasuga Taisha and walked back through the woods to the center of town. Street vendors sold orange deer antler headbands and cartoon deer plus toys. We walked through a large shopping alley and ate conveyor belt sushi for lunch.

We only saw a small portion of what Nara had to offer, but it was so impressive in its diversity. I remember several of those experiences as some of the most moving of my life so far.