Nara was considered as the first permanent capital of Japan. The capital was moved to a new location whenever a new emperor ascended to the throne. Nara is located less than an hour from Kyoto and Osaka. My travel in Nara has been significantly more fun for me. I also consider that Nara is very much maganda or beautiful! ❤

How did I get there?

I pre-booked a JR Kansai Wide Pass in Klook. The pass lasted for 5 days so I had the chance to visit Kyoto and Nara.

To know more about my Japan essentials prep, click here.

For me, Nara is more accessible than Kyoto. There were busses running around the city to take you to different tourist spots in Nara.

Where are the place I traveled in Nara?

Nara Park

Entrance Fee: Free

A large park in Central Nara established in 1880. Nara Park’s main attractions includes Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji and the Nara National Museum. It is also home to hundreds of freely roaming deers.

If you want to feed these deers and never let you out of their sights, there are vendors selling biscuits. I am not so much of an animal lover, I just like to seem them in videos or photos, so I did not take the chance to feed them. But that is ok for me. 😀 I just not like that these deers will follow me. 😀 Yet these deers will still follow you even you do not have biscuits, they were like dogs in Manila, just roaming freely!

Himuro Jinja Shrine

Entrance Fee: Free

After Nara Park, I walked where most people walked. 😀 I found a shrine with Sakura trees so I did not missed the chance to take some photos! 😀 ❤

After taking some snaps, I noticed that the place was actually a shrine. Himuro Jinja Shrine is a rare or one of a kind, literally meaning ice storage. It was said that this is the only shrine in Japan that honors the god of ice Tsugenoinagi oyamanushi no mikoto who also said studied and introduced how ice was being stored. The shrine traditionally offered prayers for the icemakers to not make it very much hot in summer and have a good crop-growing season.

The Shrine also offered fortune telling that will let you see your future by a small piece of paper to be place on top of an ice block. I tried the fortune telling that cost ¥ 200 just for fun. 😀 To get your ice slip paper, you need to shake a wooden storage and then pick a stick, there was some words on the stick, just give it to the old man and then he will give you your paper. Once you have your ice slip paper, you have to place it on the top of the ice block. The old man then told me that I have a good fortune! Hopefully, that is true! ❤

Todaiji Temple

Entrance Fee: ¥ 600

After the fortune telling in Himuro Jinja Shrine, I walked again where everyone walked. 😀 But after all the walking, I got hungry. So, I had my early lunch outside Todaiji Temple. There were restaurants and souvenir shops outside the temple so it will be better to take a bite before exploring the huge temple complex.

Todaiji or the Great Eastern Temple was constructed in 752 as the head of all provincial Buddhist temples in Japan. It is the most famous and best landmark in Nara. The temple grounds was very big similar to the gates and Todaiji’s main hall, the Daibutsuden or Big Buddha Hall.

I have been to many Buddhist Temples in Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar but this one was the biggest I have been to. If you will enter the main hall, that will be the time that you will pay for the entrance fee. Inside the main hall, was the Big Buddha.

There were also other Buddhist figures inside. If you are a Buddhist, this was definitely a pilgrimage for you. For me, it was like reminiscing the temples in other Asian countries I travelled to in a different part of Asia. ❤

As I finished my visit in Todaiji Temple, I had the chance to relax for some time and just gazed at the sky, the people passing by, the trees and everything that was on that moment. ❤

After the Todaiji Temple, I headed back to Osaka to shop at Dotonbori for pasalubong. 😀

Though it was a short visit in Nara, I found it very historical and fun. Not just by seeing some deers but by the actual way of Japanese living there. Walking on the pathways made me thought that the old Japanese were there living their simple lives in Nara.

Almost same with the deers, us, travelers can roam freely wherever we want to. We are the patrons of good voyage the bring stories when we get back to our original hometown.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtlBGJMLl7c/

Definitely, I can attest that it was gandara (slang word for beautiful) in Nara! ❤