This is a novelty -- starting my blog at the end of the day instead of first thing the morning after!

After clarifying that the rate we have paid is the current rate for a twin room, and not a suite ( we want to maximise the likelihood that Amex will cover the additional rate we've had to pay-- we're sure they wouldn't cover an upgrade!), we caught the subway to the central railway station where we used our JR Rail Passes for the first time . As luck would have it, we arrived there minutes before the rapid train to Nara was scheduled to depart (they leave every half hour). We dozed on and off during the hour-long trip, arriving at around 1pm. (The houses and high rise apartments we passed on the way we're all very similar - quite drab and run-down, with very little greenery, although every now and again, we saw what we're probably community gardens of vegetables, as well as a few fields of rice.

Once in Nara, we obtained a map from one of the tourist information guides in the railway station, and then slowly walked a couple of kilometres along a shop-lined street towards the hills. The area we reached can best be described as a huge park in which deer roam freely and around which a number of impressive shrines and temples are located. The first one was a resconstructed pagoda, a picturesque structure next to a large temple (Kohfukuji Temple). As we headed towards a couple of gardens marked on the map, we came across a park full of deer . People were purchasing packs of snacks to feed the deer, and were busy interacting with them and taking photos.

Once we reached the entrance to the two gardens, we noticed that the first one was free to foreigners. There had been very few people walking along the road to these gardens -- I suspect only the curious who were into exploring would have sought them out -- and so the Yoshikien Garden was exceptionally quiet, with only 3 or 4 other tourists wandering around whilst we were there. It was a charming, peaceful garden with a thatch-roofed building that once served as tea rooms. 

We checked out the second garden, but 900 yen (about $12) seemed a little too pricey, and so we continued wandering up the road to the Todaji Temple, the largest timber structure in the world. It houses a huge sitting Buddha and is famous, as it was visited by Bev & Ian Watson in 1980! Once we discovered that it housed the Buddha, we purchased our tickets (500 yen each). The temple has been rebuilt twice over the centuries, having been twice burned down during battles. It is now only 2/3 of its original size, but is still enormous.

After circumnavigating the big Buddha, we headed on to the Great Bell and the Nigatsudo Hall which afforded us a distant view of the city of Nara. By the time we reached the Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Michael had had enough of shrines, and so I went in on my own . I was a little disappointed, as the main hall is being renovated -- the only sight worth seeing was the hall of lanterns -- a long, narrow darkened room with mirrored walls and two rows of glowing lanterns. The tree in the yard of the shrine is said to be over 1000 years old; an impressive age. 

We strolled back down the hill, past rows of pillars topped with lanterns. It must be quite a sight on evenings when they light them all.

Our last stop was at the Nandaiman Gate that we had seen earlier when we visited the Todaji Temple. This huge timber structure housed a couple of massive statues -- very impressive!

The walk back to the railway station was hard going. It was so hot, especially in my long-sleeved shirt that I had decided I should wear to reduce my exposure to the sun. I developed a heat rash on my legs yesterday, and this was certainly further aggravated by today's heat . We purchased some interesting looking bakery products to take home for dessert, and then slowly walked back to the station, arriving about 7 minutes before the train back to Kyoto was due to depart -- perfect timing! 

We both dozed on and off on the way back -- we had been on our feet for 5 hours (quite enough at our age, especially in this heat!). Neither of us could remember exactly how many stops we were meant to go on the subway, and we ended up having to go back one stop before exiting the system! We walked through the food hall in Daimaru's basement, searching for something suitable to take back with us for dinner. No luck! We ended up buying some wine and a couple of skewers of fried chicken from a 7-11 store, and then ordered a takeaway okonomiyaki that Michael picked up about 20 minutes later.

Wow! I've finished my blog for today! Its's 10:42pm -- time for a quick shower and then off to bed. We have been waking up at about 6:30am so that Michael can go for his morning jog before breakfast. 

I hope I haven't bored you all with too many extraneous details! Goodnight now.