The Land of Deer and Arches

(Nov. 4) Visiting Kyoto and Nara was a great change of scenery and pace. We just happened to visit Kyoto during Japan's national "Culture day" holiday, and that meant the Kyoto Imperial Palace was opened up to citizens and tourists alike. Normally, you have to make a reservation to see the grounds, which are filled with beautiful Japanese gardens and buildings. We all were excited to see real moats at the Nijo castle, where the shogun (the samurai leader) and samurais lived and met centuries ago. My favorite part of Kyoto was definitely walking under 10,000 arches at the Fushimi Inari shrine. Arch covered paths twisted through forests filled with bamboo trees and quiet lakes. Candles and bells adorned shrines made of decorative arches where people came to pray. Although I couldn't read the prayers carved into the wooden arches, I could feel the magic of this sacred place.

John suggested we all head over to Nara for a day, where he promised we would witness the famous deer that live there. I was delighted to find that the deer not only live in this town, but practically take up half the population! Sacred deer roam the streets freely where people feed them deer biscuits sold in markets and pet them as if they were a family pet. In addition to the deer, we saw the largest bronze Buddha in the world, the biggest wooden temple and many local shrines.    

We would have chosen a few pictures to illustrate the beautiful architecture and sunshine that we witnessed here, but the Chinese government won't let us access our blog page. Makes me really appreciate our transparent government in the States. If you have lots of time to kill, access our Flickr photostream, which is chock full of pictures.