Our last excursion day led us to Nara and the shrines and temples in the central Nara district. Getting here from Kyoto, you’d think, would be relatively simple. In some sense, it is. You get on a train bound for Nara and then travel on that train to the city. However, the choices are many and sometimes confusing. Too, the prices vary dramatically as well as the amount of time it takes to make your way TO Nara.
Let me give you a brief example: multiple train lines have both local and limited express tickets. Those tickets vary by time of departure, time of travel, and cost. For the least expensive path to Nara, choose a local train that stops at every stop. It takes about an hour and ten minutes to travel that short distance. You could, of course, take the limited express. That train takes anywhere from twenty-eight minutes to about thirty-four minutes. The prices vary based on train line.
For us, we took the local JR train from Kyoto Station to JR Nara Station. We stopped at every JR station between Kyoto and Nara. It took 1:07 hr for the ride and cost 720yen. On the way back, we went to the Kintetsu Station and took their Limited Express, cutting off about 30 minutes of travel time for 1190yen. The Kintetsu train was very nice and the ride was very quiet. Too, we had reserved seats making the ride a bit more palatable considering many of us stood for a WHILE before seats became available on the JR train.
SO, why tell you this whole story? Because travel to Japan takes a lot of thought and consideration in terms of the time it takes and the money it costs to get around. I can say, with a lot of authority, that you can travel Japan very simply and very cheaply if you want to do that…it’s possible for your trip to cost a small fraction of what a tour company would charge you for the trip!
As for Nara, we arrived with heavy clouds and warm weather. We were met by a guide, the only one I have hired on this trip, and she was lovely. The Narawalk Company is a great group of people to work with and they were willing to alter their scripted tours for us. The price included bus fare and entry fees making our day very easy for us. A nice way to end the trip.
Nara is the historical capital of Japan and as such has so much history in this relatively small community. The BIG sights are close together and you’ll find that you can spend a couple of hours or, if you’re inclined, many days seeing everything the city has to offer.
Our walk began at the bus stop for the Kasuga Taisha Shrine. The tree-lined paths and the multitude of deer made this walk so pleasant. The crowds were small…quite small in fact, and we were able to go through the various shrines with a kind of ease that is rare in this part of the city and this time of year.
We fed the deer a cookie designed by the community and the deer bow just before receiving the meal. It was a treat to see us all feeding the deer and enjoying the experience of wandering paths with deer literally next to us.
By the time we walked through the Todai-ji Park, the weather closed in and a light sprinkle fell on us. We walked through the park to the temple and then entered this huge structure. It is the largest wooden building in the world and the massive quality of the structure was impressive and kind of overwhelming. Inside sits a bronze Buddha and the sculpture sits high above the crowds that wander through the room.
We heard lots of history about the place from our guide and then made our way to Kintetsu Station and the arcade that is attached. The walk from the park was an easy 20 minutes and we ate lunch and boarded our train back to Kyoto.
Will finish the evening packing for our flight from Osaka tomorrow and then make our way home on Wednesday evening. We will see Albuquerque soon enough! Is it OK to say too soon?
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