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seichanToday we traveled to Nara to see people literally get headbutted by the deer. Excellent fun! The giant Buddha was awesome. I want one. I was disappointed the previous day that photos were not allowed of the 1001 Kannons, so I was happy that this Buddha was a-ok for photo purposes. There were large decorations being put up for some sort of celebration taking place soon. We missed an earlier 1300 Anniversary of Nara celebration and will be missing this one, too. It was rather very crowded today with swarms of school children and tours and other visitors. I can't imagine what it would be like during a celebration.
To get to Nara we took the Kintetsu Railway (610 yen one way) instead of the JR (we did not get JR passes since we are not traveling back and forth from a city). The Kintetsu Railway was a tad confusing. This was probably my fault, since I only took a cursory glance at the rail map. The 'limited express' and 'express' terms initially confused me (the limited express cost 2x as much and have different colored trains). The trains don't have maps inside the rail cars and don't have digital screens with the next stop listed. You have to listen to the speaker which can be hard when there are alot of people on the train. The station names are also hard to see when it is crowded in the rail car. Thankfully, you make the transfer at a large station, Yamato Saidaiji, where most people will get off. Taking this route will save you some walking distance to the Nara sites and is the least expensive. We had some moments of humorous panic traveling today, but actually didn't do anything incorrectly all day. *whew*
During the afternoon, we sped-walked through Nishiki Market. Since we got there only a little before 4pm, about half the shops were closing up for the day. It is a pretty cool place to buy fresh ingredients for cooking (if I were planning to cook here). After that, we had other 3+ streets of shops to browse. The 2 parallel N-S streets hold cheap to average price fashion and household items. Kawasuma shijo dori has all the expensive branded items. We also sped-walked through Gion. While immune to the novelty of women in kimono and kids in school uniforms, it is amusing to see other people gawk and coo over them; granted, it is interesting to see the pretty clothing. Also, learned that females are encouraged to wear traditional wear in certain areas to spread tourism and beautify the area. They get discounts for doing so. Purchases in these shop-leadened areas only included three volumes of manga (there's a small Animate on the 2nd level of a building near Nishiki..a volume of manga for 400 yen...yes!) and a handkerchief. The only kitchy item I bought was the 1300 Anniversary of Nara mascot cell strap with an odd-looking Buddha with deer antlers.
To get to Nara we took the Kintetsu Railway (610 yen one way) instead of the JR (we did not get JR passes since we are not traveling back and forth from a city). The Kintetsu Railway was a tad confusing. This was probably my fault, since I only took a cursory glance at the rail map. The 'limited express' and 'express' terms initially confused me (the limited express cost 2x as much and have different colored trains). The trains don't have maps inside the rail cars and don't have digital screens with the next stop listed. You have to listen to the speaker which can be hard when there are alot of people on the train. The station names are also hard to see when it is crowded in the rail car. Thankfully, you make the transfer at a large station, Yamato Saidaiji, where most people will get off. Taking this route will save you some walking distance to the Nara sites and is the least expensive. We had some moments of humorous panic traveling today, but actually didn't do anything incorrectly all day. *whew*
During the afternoon, we sped-walked through Nishiki Market. Since we got there only a little before 4pm, about half the shops were closing up for the day. It is a pretty cool place to buy fresh ingredients for cooking (if I were planning to cook here). After that, we had other 3+ streets of shops to browse. The 2 parallel N-S streets hold cheap to average price fashion and household items. Kawasuma shijo dori has all the expensive branded items. We also sped-walked through Gion. While immune to the novelty of women in kimono and kids in school uniforms, it is amusing to see other people gawk and coo over them; granted, it is interesting to see the pretty clothing. Also, learned that females are encouraged to wear traditional wear in certain areas to spread tourism and beautify the area. They get discounts for doing so. Purchases in these shop-leadened areas only included three volumes of manga (there's a small Animate on the 2nd level of a building near Nishiki..a volume of manga for 400 yen...yes!) and a handkerchief. The only kitchy item I bought was the 1300 Anniversary of Nara mascot cell strap with an odd-looking Buddha with deer antlers.
