Shinkansen to Nara

Saturday we took off for the first Shinkansen ride. We went to Nara first – just so we could stop by and feed the deer. Now these are not ordinary deer, oh no. They’re specially trained to recognize crackers in someone’s possession no matter how sneaky they might think they’re being. I bought the crackers and pawned them off on the girls immediately. The deer, recognizing a pass when they saw it, quickly moved in on the unsuspecting girls, nuzzling them, knocking elbows as well as nibbling at anything they thought they could get away with. The squeals were coming quickly and they were hard pressed to feed the deer fast enough (and I was hard pressed to stop laughing long enough to take pictures). No matter how much you think you’re going to get the “hungry” one on the far side, the more demanding ones will get in there first. It was hilarious to watch but over SO quickly.
We wandered through the temple grounds, checking out the world’s largest wooden building with the world’s largest indoor wooden seated Buddha seated on a sectioned lotus (I think that covers it). Despite the world’s largest issue, it truly is a spectacular statue.
We also went through the Isuien garden. This is a garden that represents the kind of Japanese garden that was common during the Meiji period (around the turn of the 20th century). Walking through the garden you encountered distinctly different types of gardens - quite relaxing. After this rich, cultural experience we took off for our hotel…in Osaka! No grass growing under our feet.