Amagasaki 6 (for Mar. 22)
We got a bit of a late start today, delayed by conversations with our darling children. We were hanging out in the morning getting ready and I checked my computer to see if there was any email. There was a message on Skype (Internet computer to computer long distance calling) only a few minutes old from Darren asking, “What’s up?” We called back and had a nice chat for about an hour. It was early evening in Vancouver. Carla sent a message to Laura asking her to join in, but she wasn’t there. No sooner had we hung up on Darren than Laura called. We spent another hour talking to her. It was sure nice to hear their voices and catch up with them. Until now, our Internet connections have been brief and occasional. What a difference when you can remain plugged in indefinitely.
Tyler was working today, so the three of us set off for Nara, which was established as the capital in 710 AD and remained the capital until about 780. During this time, Osaka was an important commercial and diplomatic centre and had an Imperial Palace for the Emperor, it wasn’t the capital. The main attraction in Nara was all the temples and shrines built by the nobles. Although the originals had all been burnt down in the middle ages, many were rebuilt hundreds of years ago. Three of them have been designated World Heritage Sites. Most of the lower slopes of the hills north of the city are a series of parks, temples, and shrines.
After leaving the city we traveled through some fairly open country under a heavy overcast sky and continuous light rain that persisted through the day. Once there we walked about half a kilometer to our first target, a five story pagoda reconstructed in 1426.
The grounds of this and every other park space are full of sacred deer. They are kind of like our sacred geese. People feed them, they poop, and you walk in the poop. They also like to hang around the tourist shops and food stalls in case someone might feed them.
We passed through this huge wooden gate on our way to our next stop, another Buddhist temple. This one is the largest wooden building in the world. I figure it is over 100 feet tall. Inside is a
giant Buddha. I figure him at about 60 feet, plus the 10 foot pedestal that the altar is mounted on. The pictures just can’t capture the size of this thing. Apparently, all the copper and gold in the statue nearly drained the country’s total supply when it was cast in 752. There are also 4 other huge 15-20 foot tall statues inside. The building was burned a couple of times. The current version was rebuilt in the early 1700’s.
We made it home by about 8:30 and spent the evening visiting, blogging, and otherwise killing time.
I had my first experience with a Japanese toilet today, and it was an interesting one. Although they have western style toilets in most public places, they are not found everywhere. The Japanese style is level with the floor. I walked in, faced away from the plumbing like I normally would, squatted as low as I could go on my haunches, and did my business. But where was the toilet paper?! It was behind me! I couldn’t turn around to reach it without losing my balance and falling in a bad place, so I had to rise part way up and shuffle part way around without dropping anything in the bad place until I could reach the toilet paper. When I was done with all the squatting and partial standing I felt like I had just been through some new exercise program. One I wouldn’t recommend. Apparently, you face the plumbing in these Japanese bathrooms and everything else is right in front of you. Keep that in mind if you are ever in Japan. You will save yourself and major workout.
Tyler was working today, so the three of us set off for Nara, which was established as the capital in 710 AD and remained the capital until about 780. During this time, Osaka was an important commercial and diplomatic centre and had an Imperial Palace for the Emperor, it wasn’t the capital. The main attraction in Nara was all the temples and shrines built by the nobles. Although the originals had all been burnt down in the middle ages, many were rebuilt hundreds of years ago. Three of them have been designated World Heritage Sites. Most of the lower slopes of the hills north of the city are a series of parks, temples, and shrines.
After leaving the city we traveled through some fairly open country under a heavy overcast sky and continuous light rain that persisted through the day. Once there we walked about half a kilometer to our first target, a five story pagoda reconstructed in 1426.
The grounds of this and every other park space are full of sacred deer. They are kind of like our sacred geese. People feed them, they poop, and you walk in the poop. They also like to hang around the tourist shops and food stalls in case someone might feed them.
We passed through this huge wooden gate on our way to our next stop, another Buddhist temple. This one is the largest wooden building in the world. I figure it is over 100 feet tall. Inside is a
giant Buddha. I figure him at about 60 feet, plus the 10 foot pedestal that the altar is mounted on. The pictures just can’t capture the size of this thing. Apparently, all the copper and gold in the statue nearly drained the country’s total supply when it was cast in 752. There are also 4 other huge 15-20 foot tall statues inside. The building was burned a couple of times. The current version was rebuilt in the early 1700’s.
We made it home by about 8:30 and spent the evening visiting, blogging, and otherwise killing time.
I had my first experience with a Japanese toilet today, and it was an interesting one. Although they have western style toilets in most public places, they are not found everywhere. The Japanese style is level with the floor. I walked in, faced away from the plumbing like I normally would, squatted as low as I could go on my haunches, and did my business. But where was the toilet paper?! It was behind me! I couldn’t turn around to reach it without losing my balance and falling in a bad place, so I had to rise part way up and shuffle part way around without dropping anything in the bad place until I could reach the toilet paper. When I was done with all the squatting and partial standing I felt like I had just been through some new exercise program. One I wouldn’t recommend. Apparently, you face the plumbing in these Japanese bathrooms and everything else is right in front of you. Keep that in mind if you are ever in Japan. You will save yourself and major workout.
posted by Celeste at
5:01 a.m.
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