Today was another fairly early start at Kyoto Station catching the Keihan Train to Nara Station to explore one of the former capital cities of Japan, when the capital city would move to the location of the current emperor.
The train ride was fairly uneventful but offered some nice views of the Japan countryside.
The kids and MBM were very excited to see the deer in Nara. And they were not disappointed. Shortly after arriving at a small park near one of the museums, everyone was bombarded with the many deer that wander around and get fed special biscuits by tourists.
B and T each got a package of biscuits but were not prepared for how the deer would approach them holding the entire package of biscuits in their hands. Soon, the full package was on the ground and the deer were quickly eating the cookies.
It was a short walk to Great Buddha Hall at Todai Ji to see the Buddhist temple and MASSIVE Buddha that was inside. The scene cannot be described other than with photos:
The two statues on either side of the giant Buddha are 45m, just to give some perspective.
After exiting the hall, the gang was making their way back to the museum when they were approached by a small group of elementary students who were on a field trip. Each member of the group was asked a couple of questions in English, clearly to encourage the students to use their English skills and interact with tourists. It was very cute and Lola was able to get a selfie with her interviewer.
The museum was fairly impressive, showcasing many artifacts that were found near Todai Ji and the surrounding area. Many of the items dated back to the 6th century, AA still has trouble comprehending how well preserved some of these items are. (No photos were allowed inside)
It was now lunch time and a restaurant was sought out by the team. DD and Lola found the same restaurant while searching their phones so they made the 15 min walk to the restaurant only to find that there was a long line out the door.
So it was time for plan B - going back to Japanese steakhouse (Wagomi) which was not very busy. The restaurant was pretty fancy (likely the reason why it wasn’t busy) which offered a great experience for some amazing Waygu and Kobe beef to be enjoyed. AA even got a “Gin Buck” which was very good. DD eventually ordered the same and finished his meal with another beer when he initially asked for the bill. This has been the first translation issue of the trip and not a terrible one to experience.
After finishing lunch, the troop took a slightly meandering path back to the train station where the kids tried again to give the deer some biscuits. This time, B and T took some of the persistent coaching that were offered by the adults and were more successful spreading out their snacks with all the deer.
B was insistent to make her biscuits last and was giving tiny morsels to the deer, some of which were not interested in the “biscuit dust” that was being offered. T wanted to make sure that ALL deer were fed, which he had to be told that he doesn’t need to worry about this since there are so many people feeding the deer that they all will get their fill.
Eventually all the biscuits were consumed by the deer and the group was back on the train, heading to Kyoto to check out the Nintendo store. T later claims that “some biscuit crumbs fell out of his pockets on the train” - it must have been an accident (lol).
Back in Kyoto and at the Nintendo store, everyone browsed the different items that were probably in the Tokyo store but with much (much) less people inside, it was easier to see all of the different things. DD and Lola bought a couple items before everyone made their way up to the rooftop photo spot for some nifty pictures with Mario.
Instead of battling the Friday rush hour on the bus, it was decided that everyone would walk back 2km to see more of the local sites in Kyoto which started with some chocolate covered strawberries (and plain strawberries for Lola).
After the 45 mins walk, everyone was back at the Airbnb where a spot for supper was researched. AA found a chicken bbq place at the Kyoto Station Porta Dining area (again).
Almost everyone enjoyed their selections - T wasn’t quite feeling his choice and DD found out later that something didn’t agree with him (perhaps it was the sake that he couldn’t drink). AA and Lola enjoyed their meals.
After supper, MBM wanted to get herself a dessert from Sir Thomas Lipton which was on the way out of the station dining area. Her dessert was the best so far on the trip. On the way back to the house, another stop at a convenience store, this time “Lawsons” was the stop of choice. DD was having trouble figuring out the change for the purchase and eventually defaulted to showing the cashier all of the change he had and letting her pick through the change. Tourists… lol.
It was another typical night at the house - some snacks and drinks, some video games and lots of laughs before calling it a night and going to bed. Tomorrow is another train ride to start the day trip adventure in another new city.
No comments:
Post a Comment