November 9: Nara and Uji

 

Todaiji Temple in Nara, Japan

“I like the relaxed way in which the Japanese approach religion. I think of myself as basically a moral person, but I'm definitely not religious, and I'm very tired of the preachiness and obsession with other people's behavior characteristic of many religious people in the United States. As far as I could tell, there's nothing preachy about Buddhism. I was in a lot of temples, and I still don't know what Buddhists believe, except that at one point Kunio said 'If you do bad things, you will be reborn as an ox.'

This makes as much sense to me as anything I ever heard from, for example, the Reverend Pat Robertson.”
― Dave Barry, Dave Barry Does Japan

Today, we started off by train to the Japanese city of Nara. What is unique about it, aside from the fact that it was the capital of Japan from 710-794 AD, is that there are deer. Like everywhere. And way more than Cades Cove, for people reading this from Tennessee.  There are around 1,400 deer living around Nara Park and they are believed to be deities. There is a legend that in AD768, the first of the four gods of Kasugataisha Shrine traveled all the way from Ibaraki Prefecture North of Tokyo, to Mt. Mikasa in Nara, on a white deer. Thereafter, deer were considered sacred, and killing one was punishable by death. Today, they are protected as Natural Monuments, and revered as holy animals in Nara. The deer are wild, but they enjoy eating the special crackers called “shika senbei”, that are sold around Nara Park, and will approach humans. These crackers are especially made to be safe for the deer and are the only food you can give them. They are not so polite as to feel uncomfortable walking up to you and begging for a cracker, even if you don't have any. 

Hey, dude! Got a cracker?

Deer in a ditch. He wasn't alone.

Deer exiting the temple gates

Deer hanging out. Deer were literally all over the city. 

The deer are so accustomed to humans they come right up to you. One or two of them even kissed my hand just to see if I had anything in it. They apparantly during COVID had to learn to eat the grass in the park due to the lack of cracker-carrying tourists.

The deer really are the "thing," but the temple and shrine are equally lovely to behold

During the festivals at this shrine which has over 3000 lanterns and lamps, these are lit up for display. 

They have a mock-up dark area to give you and idea what it would look like

More lanterns. There appear to be about as many lanterns as deer. That is, a buttload. 

Then we were off to Todai-ji Temple, a construction of Pure Land Buddhists.Tōdai-ji is a Bcomplex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergone several reconstructions since then, with the most significant reconstruction taking place in 1709. Its Great Buddha Hall houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese as Daibutsu. The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara. They didn't allow internal photos (and that is typical of Buddhist temples in Japan), so much of the beauty can only be seen externally in photos. 

Torii Gates of Kasugataisha Temple 

These well-manicured trees don't come naturally. This gent is about 30 feet off the ground. 

Kasugataisha Temple. No wonder the Dalai Lama is a Pure Land Buddhist!

Across the lake at sunset. 

From the lantern-temple/shrine, deer of Nara, we were off to the town of Uji. What make Uji interesting is that it is the center of Japanese matcha tea production. This town is matcha crazy. In addition to the tea, they make candy, meat marinade, dressing, cosmetics, soap, and you name it! Matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves originating in China traditionally consumed in East Asia. It is mostly produced in Japan today. The green tea plants used for matcha are shade-grown for three to four weeks before harvest; the stems and veins are removed during processing. During shaded growth, the plant Camellia sinensis produces more theanine and caffeine. The powdered form of matcha is consumed differently from tea leaves or tea bags, as it is suspended in a liquid, typically water or milk. We enjoyed it in ice cream!

Paul finds his happy place in Uji

A Japanese commuter finds his happy place between Uji and Kyoto. He didn't drink enough matcha!

That evening, we enjoyed a very lovely meal of Waygu beef with some new Brit and Irish friends at Hafuu Shogoin.  The family owns a butcher shop and has operated this restaurant for many years. No one left disappointed.  Should you ever land in Kyoto and aren't opposed to red meat--- go there!

Satisfied customers at Hafuu

Overall, a lovely day out in Nara and Uji. Next stop: Kyoto. 

"You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." — C.S. Lewis

Paul's Ponderings:  A great day out in deer-land at Nara....who knew a bunch of deer would be domesticated in Nara.    And boy were they everywhere.    That said, the temple was stunning.    We had a great lunch by a small lake and then went on to Uji, home of another beautiful temple floating in water and matcha....matcha ice cream, matcha jelly, matcha tea, match everything.  Not being a tea lover, the ice cream was great.    We continue to enjoy ourselves in Japan and Kyoto is upcoming.   After that, some fairly serious walking/hiking remains.