On Sunday I took the bullet train out to Nara which was a pretty cool experience. Nara is the ancient capital of Japan, and has a bunch of history, artifacts, and shrines. I visited Nara Park to see the Hall of the Great Buddha shrine, and also the Nara National Museum with sculptures and artwork dating back to 700 A.D. (No pictures of the exhibits please). I took a lot of pictures along the way, and I kind of liked them all so there are a lot here to see here. (click pictures for full res)
Tokyo station is huge with metro, commuter, and bullet rails all converging in one place.
The inside of the bullet train looked a lot like a regional jet, except for there was legroom(!!!) and power outlets.
We passed a bunch more rural areas of Japan. Rice patties on deck.
Taking pictures on the train was so hard because we were going so fast! I managed to catch this youth baseball game in progress from afar.
I had to switch back to the metro when I got to Kyoto. The conductor must have told a real funny joke the way this guy is cheesing.
The Nara line cut through what seemed to be Japanese suburbs, which were still pretty rural, but the Nara station was pretty future compared to some of the stations we passed.
The streets surrounding the station were full of shops, ready for tourists to spend some money.
Temples were not in short supply in Nara.
Right as you walk up to the begging of Nara Park, there are very friendly deer just waiting for you to feed them. A bunch of people gathered to take pictures, and feed the deer with little crackers that vendors would sell for 150 yen.
I definitely got in on the feeding action, but I just used some of the nuts (fruit? berries? idk) on the ground that some deer were already eating.
The deer were everywhere! Unfortunately, they wouldn't last a second in Texas.
Last deer shot, I swear.
There were plenty of picturesque ponds, bridges, and pavilions to enjoy.
The dense trees and winding paths made for some cool pictures.
Families were out in full effect enjoying the park. This dad and his son were playing catch in a very beautiful field that made it almost look like it was about to be fall.
The area inside the walls of the shrine was so beautiful and well kept.
Inside the shrine was this huge Buddha statue. The largest in the world, the statue stands 49.1 ft tall and is made of bronze.
I was the very last person in the shrine of course. There were too many photo ops, and the security started shooing me away because I was there over 30 minutes after it was supposed to close. They were very nice to even let me stay that long.
