Osaka 20121024

Hi,

Waking up at Osaka in the Namba district was very entertaining. It is a lively district and very crowded. Today we planned to go to Nara and check Osaka. So we took the train from Osaka to Nara at around 9 in the morning. Arriving in Nara, first some breakfast, I took red bean bun which was quit tasty.

Nara was the first permanent capital in Japan and there are a lot of temple related to that period. From the train station to the most important temples is a walk of 40 minutes. On the way there we encountered near the first sightseeing the Kofukuji a small lake with turtles sunbathing :).

It was a beautiful day in Nara, sun was shining so it was a pleasant walk to the sight seeings.

The Kofukuji temple with it 5 story pagoda, it is the second highest one in Japan.

Also very interesting is the southern Octagonal Halls which contains several treasures, but it is not open for public today.

The eastern golden hall, it contains a lot of Buddhist art.

Everywhere there where a lot of deer walking around, it is said they are the messengers of the gods.

The walk continued to the next sightseeing.

A lot of school children were at Nara, I understood that a lot of excursions are going on in this period.

Walking to the Todaiji Temple we walked past Nandaimon gate, which is quite impressive and a national treasure.

The entrance of the Todaiji Temple

The Todaiji temple which is the largest wooden building in the world, and it is not even the original state, which was in fact much larger.

Within the temple behind the Budda statue there is a small hole, it is said that if you can go through you can make a wish :).

The Buddha inside the building.

Walking through Nara from temple to temple is very pleasant and everywhere there are deer.

After a walk of 30 minutes I arrived at Kasuga Taisha, which is an important shrine. It is one of the oldest in Nara.

Near the shrine you can find a lot of stone lanterns, there are more than thousands everywhere, quite a nice view.

After walking back we took the train back to Osaka to visit the castle.

The premises around the Osaka castle.

The Osaka castle is one of my favorite castle due to its relation with Toyotomi Hideyoshi. One of the three big unifiers in Japan. I am following a podcast named http://frug.podbean.com/, which gives a history of Japan in a very pleasant and enjoyable way.

The castle to be very beautiful and would advise everyone to visit it :). Inside the castle they showed a lot of the history of Hideyoshi and how the different wars where fought.

On the top floor you could see the whole of Osaka.

And of course you could dress like a real samurai, I tried it :).

On the premises of the Osaka castle there was a dojo giving kendo lessons to children, they were very serious.  It was very nice to see, I stayed about an hour.

It was getting dark so we went to Dotonbori, the place to be at night. With a lot of entertainment and shopping places.

The Minami area was very nice and we walked for hours there and enjoyed the canal, with the neon light everywhere. Osaka is know for its food, and we had like 100 choices to select from :).

Osaka is one of my favorite towns in Japan, i really enjoyed the stay :D.

Cheers,