FINALLY, ORANGE AND RED: NARA

Nara is the birthplace of Japan. Want details about this spiritual city? Click on THIS.

A train on the JR Nara Line leaves Kyoto around every 10 minutes for Nara on a 50-minute trip that is 23 miles away. You would think there would be mountains, forests and bamboo patches between the two cities. Nope.....homes all the way in between.

Japan is so populated. Yet it is dropping in population. Now at 126 million, Japan is predicted to have only 87 million people in 2070...unless it does something drastic.

So we left Kyoto Station.

Easy ride to Nara, where we caught a cab to the J.W. Marriott. Turned out that we could have saved $8, for there is a shuttle pick-up at the station every half an hour. Check-in is not standing in line, but instead by sitting down and being given a hot towel and served drinks. After a long while, they finally pass on your room key, and you meet your luggage there.

The usual Christmas tree in the lobby.

They do have a Club Lounge here, and this was our dinner. Copious amounts of scotch, sake and beer.

Walked 4913 steps.

About Nara.

Originally known as Yamato, it was Japan's first capital, from 710 to 794, when it was moved to Kyoto.
Buddhism came to Japan through Nara.
Buddhist temple Todai-ji was founded in 738, and is the largest, and is the world's largest wooden building, and houses the largest bronze sttue of Buddha.

When the city reached 1300 years old, it created a new mascot, Sento-kun.
There are eight major temples, shrines and ruins, collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Actually, there are over 2,000 temples and shrines in Nara.
The Great Buddha of Nara is 49 feet high.

Breakfast was in the Club Lounge, and it was very good. For two people.

I had sake for my breakfast. I want to mention that my footwear in the early part of this trip was just not comfortable enough. I happened to walk into a Daiso store and bought this shoe/slipper set that has worked out just perfectly. I'm not sure what it cost, but I would guess $3. With slacks, looks like shoes.

If you have been following us on this journey, you know that we have normally done nothing, but enjoyed doing that. As this is our final stop before we return to Yokohama, we thought that Nara Park was worthy of a visit.

There are times not to visit Nara Park.

A weekend at the peak of Cherry Blossoms.
A weekend at the peak of Fall Colors.

We lucked out. Yesterday was Sunday in Japan, and if we had gone to Nara Park, there would have been ten times more people. We went on a Monday, and there still were many, many thousands.
Better yet, the JW Marriott has a shuttle twice/hour that drops you off at a train station close to the park.
By far the most gorgeous Fall Colors we have seen on this trip. Best just to show some photos. Just before the park, we saw what surely looked like a Sakura.

We then saw this stand selling wafers to feed the deer.

Lots of deer. There are annually 150 car-deer accidents, with deer zones. For a tourist city, shops tend to close around 5PM. Has something to do with deers and glowing eyes with horns. We were met by my Blue-Bar Pigeon.

Much of these colors came from Isuien Garden, which is in Nara Park.

Next, Daibutsuden, which houses the Grand Buddha.

Outside Daibutsuden

Now heading towards Todaiji Temple.

One final Momiji in Nara Park.

At Kintetsu Station, our pick-up point back to the JW Marriott.

The road to the hotel had, I think, yellow gingko nut trees.

Across the street from the hotel.

So how far did I walk today? I thought it was at least 15,000 steps. Nope, only 10,694.

Only two more trains left. Two days from now, back to Kyoto, transferring to a Shinkansen to Yokohama.

HONOLULU TO SEATTLE

The story of the day is Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4 at 145 MPH, with a track that has moved further south and the eye projected to make landfall just south of Sarasota. Good news for Tampa, which is 73 miles north. Milton will crash into Florida as a Category 4, and is huge, so a lot of problems can still be expected in Tampa Bay with storm surge. If the eye had crossed into the state just north of Tampa, the damage would have been catastrophic. Milton is a fast-moving storm, currently at 17 MPH, so as bad as the rainfall will be over Florida, again, a blessing. The eye will make landfall around 10PM EDT today, and will move into the Atlantic Ocean north of Palm Bay Thursday morning. My first trip to Seattle was in June of 1962 just after I graduated from Stanford University. Caught a bus. Was called the Century 21 Exposition . Also the Seattle World's Fair. 10 million joined me on a six-month run. My first. These a...

WHY YOU SHOULD CONVERT TO A JAPANESE HIGH TECH TOILET

Did you know that Oktoberfest in Germany is mostly in September? The very first day of Oktoberfest 2021 was supposed to be today, September 18, extending into October 3. Well, as in 2020, Oktoberfest was cancelled. So why is it called by that month when it is held mostly in September? The first celebration in 1810 was in October. Did you also know that Oktoberfest is held only in Munich? These days seven million drink more than a liter ( about three typical cans ) of beer each, costing around $11. Except for my wife and I when we followed the crowd to board the S-Bahn to the fairgrounds near Old Town. It was drizzling a bit. We bought a large pretzel outside of a typical barn where beer is served. We did not know that you needed to get this inside the hall. So no one came to serve us beer. After a while we decided to have lunch, and the restaurant we settled on only served wine. Thus, we might have been the ...

THE FIRST 84 YEARS OF MY LIFE

The first half of my life was spent preparing myself for my final 42 years. This was a mostly trying and stressful period involving a less than ideal youth, then struggles to get through school, my first few jobs and accompanying life, ending two months later on a Sunday with Part 15E , so it was a spiritual conclusion to my final transition. I never did count the number of actual postings, but I suspect it was around 25 parts. The ending had to do with golf, the disappearance and re-appearance of an 8-iron cover. That was the final clue to whether the beyond after death would be eternal gloom or Heaven. Today, I provide only one transition, but hint about a final one, for this, after all, is Sunday. I'm 84 years old, so let me summarize what happened during the first phase, from 0-42, and follow with the years 42-84. As this is 2024, that key transition year was 1982. I can't seem to find this photo, but as a one-year old baby, I was fat....

Search This Blog