Nara with the Aochi's (minus Hiroko)

On Saturday night, I ended up going to the Aochi's for dinner - Hiroko was still in America visiting her boyfriend so I wanted to spend some time with her mom and dad. Her dad ended up taking me to a Chinese restaurant. I must admit, it was rather delicious and the first time I have had actual Chinese food and not American Chinese. Anyways, I had some shrimp, chicken with vegetables, gyoza, and some fried chicken. It was absolutely delicious. After dinner, we went to a place called Don Kihote (pronounced Quixote), a discount shop. I am ready to go back and do some shopping - they had everything from food to couches and underwear. I guess you could say it is the Japanese walmart. After dinner we just went home, hung out, and drank some beer. The exciting part was yet to come because I was going to spend the night and go to Nara the next day with the Aochi's. After a few laughs, I got a great night of sleep.

I awoke to pancakes, fruit, and yogurt. After breakfast, we were off to Nara. I must admit, Nara has become my new favorite place in Japan. It is very similar to Kyoto only there is more open space, more nature. And, the deer roam around freely. Actually, locals sell deer food to tourist and the animals are quite tame.

If you look closely, you can see two deer on the left side of the picture. And, in case you couldn't tell, this is Hiroko's mother. We started off the day viewing the pagoda in the upper left hand picture. It is a very famous one in Japan and the second tallest in the country. After that, we went to a museum; there were a lot of interesting things but cameras were forbidden. Next, we walked past Nara park, through the deer, and went to Todaiji Temple which was built in the Nara period or the 8th century.

(Todaiji Temple)

(Cleansing Ceremony)

The temple itself still ranks as the largest wooden structure in the world and it is impossible to describe the enormity of the statue. If I had to guess, I would say that it is easily 200 feet tall. However, before you enter the building, apart from washing your hands, it is custom to bath yourself in incense. For some reason is cleanses the soul and brings forth good luck. After the temple we ended up going to another place which had an absolutely gorgeous view.

Although I do not remember the name of this temple and while the temple itself was not that spectacular, the view surrounding the temple was amazing. In the picture below you can see the city in the distance and where Nara park begins and ends.
After the this temple, we headed to a part of the city which still appeared to be traditional. Many of the houses were of the same structure and material of those which would have been made a few hundred years ago. Actually, we were able to go in to an old urban townhouse which doubled as a residence and workplace. (see below)
It is difficult to describe but the houses are narrow and long since taxes were paid based on the width of one's house. There was also a garden built into the house structure and a "shed" in the back for storage. The staircases doubled as storage and there is a smoke duct to ventilate the smoke after cooking. While we were there, the woman showed me how the door closed at night at which point, a smaller door could be opened to allow guests in and out. I think the only reason she showed me was because of my American descendant as I did not see her show another person. That was pretty much my stay in Nara... I will post come more pictures on the next blog. Hope everyone is doing well and happy. I know things are looking up here. After I have a place where I know I can stay and not have to worry about eviction, I will feel a lot better (after the moving and everything). Sorry for the change in blogs, I just like this one a lot better, the style and options and everything. Have a great day and smile!