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Nara, Himeji & Osaka

Kansai Area

Tony Clemens
2005-08-31 22:15:56

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was rebuild in 1709, at only two-thirds the size of the original. The Buddha was originally cast in 746 and stands at 16 metres and consists of 437 tonnes of bronze and 130 kg of gold.

There are several other structures within the TÅ�dai-ji and also nearby is the Kasuga-taisha shrine. This shrine was founded in the 8th century by the Fujiwara family and was rebuilt every 20 years according to Shinto tradition. The approaches to the shrine are lines with hundreds of lanterns with many more hundreds inside the shrine. These lanterns are lit twice a year as part of lantern festivals. Bring food for the deer.

Before you arrive at Nara-koen park from the train station you will pass several notable sites. Kofuku-ji was transferred from Kyoto in 710. Although the original temple had 175 buildings, years of fires and civil wars as left only a dozen buildings which include two pagodas, the tallest one is only a few centimetres shorter than the one in Kyoto. The National Treasure Hall contains a variety of status salvaged from the previous buildings.

Nara also contains one the three National Museums in the country. There are archaeological finds and displays of sculptures, paintings and calligraphy.

If you have time you can visit the neighbourhood of Naramachi which contains many traditional houses and a short bus ride way there are several world heritage temples. Are they worth the trip? Don't know since I never had the time but some of them are the oldest in the country which were founded in 607. Let me know if they are worth the trip.

Himeji

Himeji is a castle town. Almost completely bombed flat during WWII it's a typical modern unattractive small Japanese city, except for the castle. There are only a few original (non-concrete) castles left in Japan and this is probably the most famous, you've probably seen ...