We woke up to a cloudy day and the forecast was to be much like yesterday, cloudy with periodic light showers.

 Today started off the same as the last few days here in Osaka; Breakfast at the hotel, which consists of several kinds of fish, salads, rice, noodles, eggs, fruit, toast, and various other items . Getting kind of used to eating fish and salad for breakfast.

Our first goal today was to go on the tour at the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery, which is just outside of Kyoto. We took 2 trains and a total of 80 minutes before arriving at Yamazaki. We would have arrived about 15 minutes earlier but our last train was delayed, by a 'human incident' on our track. We arrived in Yamazaki JR (Japan Rail) Station, walked the 750 metres to the distillery, only to be told it was closed today for maintenance. A bit of a bummer, but they apologized and gave us each a Suntory Whiskey old fashioned glass tumbler.  

We met a lady from Taiwan there, who arrived looking to also do the tour just before us. Her name was Lena, she spoke quite good English and we struck up a conversation. She was travelling alone and this was her first trip to Japan. Our second destination today was the Todaiji Temple in Nara (on the other side of Kyoto) . This temple is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant and a landmark of Nara. As luck would have it, this was also going to be Lena's next destination, so the three of us spent the day sightseeing together.

We boarded the train for Kyoto and once there, changed lines to proceed to Nara. The entire transfer took us about an hour but it flew by as we chatted enroute. It was pouring rain when we arrived at the train station in Nara.  

We took the city bus to reach the Todaiji Temple. As soon we got off the bus we could not help but notice many deer, noted as messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion, roaming freely among the visitors. The rain did not deter many of them from getting up close and personal with everyone. The grounds were beautiful, green and very tranquil. Deer continued to be around us and accompany us through the walk throughout the park.  

The Nandaimon Gate is the large wooden gate leading to the Grand Buddah Hall Temple . It is watched over by two fierce looking statues, representing the Nio Guardian Kings. The statues (one out for reconstruction), have been designated as Japanese national treasures along with the gate itself. 

The original temple was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan. It has been reconstructed twice after fire. The current building was finished in 1709 and though only 2/3 of the original temple size, until 1998, the Grand Buddha Hall was the largest wooden structure in the world, current frontage measures 187 feet (57m), 165 feet (50m) deep and 160 feet (49m) high.

The distinctive draw to visit the Todaiji Temple is the large Buddha, known as "Daibutsu".  

The bronze Buddha we came to visit is the largest in the world. He has a height of 50 feet (15m) and weight of 500 tonnes (1.1 million pounds or 500,000 kgs). He is flanked by two bodhisattvas . Also in the Great Buddha Hall are other statues and models. A popular attraction is a pillar with a hole in its base which is the same size as the Daibutsu's nostril. It is said that those who can squeeze through this opening will have good luck and be granted enlightenment in their next life.

While we were at the Temple Greg started being very popular with many of the school children visiting today. They would ask if he had a moment to speak to them. they were all practising their English with a teacher standing by. They introduced themselves and asked him his name and where he was from. When he said Canada, they were delighted. We carry some Canadian Flag pins with us - good thing we had about 50 or more as he was VERY popular! they also gifted us with small origami crafts and small items they had made.

While on the grounds we also visited the Katsuga Taisha Shrine, founded in 768. Its located in more of a wooded area of the park than the Todaiji Temple . The distinctive feature of this shrine is the bronze lanterns inside the shrine (which was under reconstruction - a common thing we noticed with several shrines, temples and palaces we visited) as well as the over 3,000 stone lanterns lining the paths around it. Twice a year they have festivals when all the lanterns are light - that must be spectacular!

The Kasugayama Primeval Forest, the area adjacent to the Katsuga Taisha Shrine, is about 618 acres and contains 175 types of trees, about 600 types of plants and animal life, 60 types of birds and about 180 inspect species. The area is considered sacred and was designated a Japanese natural monument in 1924. They say it has been preserved so well that it is virtually unchanged since the 700's.

We took a break before our last temple visit for a late lunch - all this sightseeing and LOTs of walking and climbing really creates an appetite! We decided on a small restaurant in Sakura-dori . Much to Greg's delight, they had one of his Japanese favourite foods on the menu - "okinamiyaki"; its like an egg mixture with vegetables (cabbage and bean sprouts) fried in pancake form then topped with sauce and seafood/seaweed flakes. This particular restaurant had a grill in the middle of the table and the server cooked our okinamiyaki right in front of us. Greg went with beef, Eve had shrimp and Lena had squid. Delicious!

Onward to our last destination, Nohfukuji Temple, also originally built in the 700's. Most noteable at the temple is the 5 story pagoda, Japan's second tallest, eeked out by Kyoto's Toji temple's 5 story pagoda. Most of the other buildings were not accessible, but we did stroll the grounds. Again, a part of the temple was under reconstruction!

Throughout the day, Eve was delighted to get some more entries in our "Temple Book". At most temples in Japan you can present your "temple book" at temple and shrine to collect red stamps as well most temples have a scribe who will write a passage in the book in calligraphy . We have no idea what it says or means, but still, Very Cool!!

Then it was time to say goodbye to Lena - it was nice hanging out with her today, learning about the sights and about each other! We traded contact information before going separate ways on our trains "home".

We decided to do something simple and "at home" tonight for supper - being a tourist is exhausting work! In the "Namba" JR station is a very large full service grocery store - we have been using it to pick up drinks, liquor and snacks all week, as its much cheaper and has a huge selection compared to our initial corner market by the hotel. They offer a full and extensive selection of baked goods and deli/prepared foods and its very popular for commuters to pick up something there on the way home. Its was about 7:30 pm when we got there and it was very busy! We picked out a selection of foods, not 100% sure what it was when we picked it out or when we were eating it but it was all very good, and very fresh! Each selection cost about 200 - 300 yen per tray (about $2.20 - $3.30 CDN), so with a container of cheese for dessert, we spent about $17 CDN for supper.

Also picked up some 'Lifeguard Original Bionic Drink. Will try that later and see if one can run and jump faster and higher. ;)

Days in Osaka are counting down, two more to go before we venture to Yamaguchi for Haruna and Robert's wedding!