For my first full day back on Honshu, we set out for a quick convenience store breakfast and then headed to the train station. We were off to Nara Park.
After sorting out which train and rushing around to make sure we caught it, it turned out we had a few minutes to read all of the stops on the electronic display, which led to us choosing to take a different express train with fewer stops. Still feeling burned from my poor train-taking track record, I was a little apprehensive, but it worked out perfectly.
A lovely French family was seated nearby, and I struck up a conversation with them. My French is not great, but it’s always a delight to find out I can still remember enough to have a basic conversation. They were from a small suburb of Paris and had been visiting Japan for the last couple of weeks. We talked about how hot summers in Paris had become and commiserated that cities around the world kept setting new hottest-day records. We also talked about how getting by with French in Japan was more difficult than with English. They were lovely people, and they also had a good time chatting with my friend’s son. He’s enrolled in French immersion, so I talked him into joining us for a chat. They talked about the differences between Quebecois French and French from France among other things. It was a treat to be on this more touristy train route where people weren’t afraid to have a conversation. Normally, the trains are quiet like a library.
Nara Park is a public park located in the city of Nara, Japan. Established in 1880, it’s one of the oldest parks in Japan and home to Todai-ji Temple. In the thirty years since my last visit there, the buildings are exactly the same, but the trees are much bigger.
Over 1,200 wild sika deer freely roam the park, and they are not shy.
The kids got a kick out of feeding the deer some crackers (they sell them everywhere) but quickly discovered that, for the deer, one is never enough.
The deer know to bow in order to get their snack. They also know they can bully inexperienced tourists into a panic mode that sets them off running and throwing crackers in every direction to get the deer to leave them along. A favourite tactic for the deer is to pull on backpack straps. I noticed mine tightening as I tried to get one to each deer.
We ate at Cafe Conce — it’s cafeteria style and serves a more western-style cuisine than any of the other restaurants we’ve been eating at on this trip. It was good.
After touring the museum, partaking in some ritualistic incense burning, and buying some souvenir fans, we finally made our way into the temple, which houses the world’s largest indoor Buddha statue.
After another long but wonderful day, it was back on the train, back to Kyoto, and into bed early.