Lomography

Nara: Where The Messenger of God Resides
written by sugiyamasatomi on June 1st, 2009 , 10 comments (14 votes)

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Nara became the capital of Japan in the year 710, and thus, Heian period started. By this era, Buddhism has gain the political power and as a result, many Buddhist temples were built by imperial family. Even though the capital was moved to Kyoto in 784, numbers of beautiful buildings have remained in Nara till this day. The best attraction in Nara is Todaiji temple, which was contracted in 752 by Emperor Shomu. Todaiji was designated a UNESCO world heritage site, and it is the largest wooden building in the world. You will also find a largest Buddha statue in Todaiji temple, which unfortunately I don’t have a picture of (besides digital pictures).

Another amazing thing about this city is the wild deers that roam around all over the place! Deers were considered as a messenger of God in the ancient times, and the deers in Nara have become a national treasure. You will find little shops in the area that sells treats that are specifically made for the deers, and the best part is, if you hold the treat slightly above deer’s head, they will bow to you! None of my friends believed me until they saw it with their own eyes, and some even said, “If they do, they must have been trained to do so,” but NO! They are wild deers and were never trained to do that! You can walk next to the deers there, and pet them, feed them, and take a picture with them! No problem! They are very gentle, and are not scared of people at all.

Nara will definitely entertain any visitors with numbers of historical buildings to see and friendly deers that welcomes you:)
If you are interested, find out more about Nara at http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/nara/todaiji.html