Nara, one of Japan’s ancient capital cities and an integral part of the history of Buddhism in Japan, is a must-do on any foreign tourists itinerary, namely for one reason–the hordes of sika deer roaming about the park that houses a number of temples and shrines. Of course, most people make it a day trip from their base in Kyoto or Osaka, but I am not most people, and I was delighted to find an array of affordable hostel options, which made staying a couple of days quite enticing. It also helped that the transportation onward to Tokyo dropped significantly in price if I waited out the weekend.
The hostel offers free breakfast, but certainly ranks as one of the stingiest free breakfasts available. Each guest is entitled to a single slice of toast–helpfully packaged and labelled individually–and a bit of margarine and honey as a topping. The hostel owners appear to be on the verge of cancelling breakfast due to negative feedback, but honestly any breakfast is better than none. Nevertheless, considering how cheap bread is, I don’t understand the impetus to not just provide a little bit more.
Of course, with free breakfast on the horizon, I really screwed up the interval fasting (aka Ramadan) because I can’t not eat free food (though I seem to be doing quite well at turning down free alcohol). I spent a few hours downstairs–much like Kobe there is virtually no activity in the hostel in the morning–before heading out for the day. I wore my hat and grabbed my walking stick, but left my backpack.
I did a loop around Nara Park, targeting the lakes over the deer where it is less crowded. I visited the main Shinto shrine (Kasuga Taisha) up in the “mountains” and followed some footpaths counterclockwise to pass by a number of Buddhist (sub)temples. It surprising to see how pretty much every temple/shrine has an entrance fee and for the most part I took a hard pass on shelling out all that money. Even a park that was basically just a grass lawn on a hill was protected by a fence with entrance tickets.
It was hot and the sun was strong, so when I reached that park (technically the area outside it where school children were picnicking among the lazy deer), I found a covered bench and laid down for a quick power nap. Carrying on, I got some free tea at a Buddhist compound that was open to the public before heading around to the main Buddhist temple–Todaiji. I shelled out the money to enter and was able to appreciate the giant Buddha statues inside the massive temple hall despite some crowds.
Like a salmon returning to spawn, I was heading against the current as the crowds surged towards Todaiji in the mid-afternoon. I went to the Nara National Museum and balked at the 1500 yen entrance price, opting instead to take a circuitous route back to the hostel–passing by Kohfukiji Temple–but not paying to enter the inner hall.
I bought salad in the supermarket and after hydrating for a bit, bought a discount ticket for the public bathhouse up the street as soon as the reception opened at 4pm. It was so hot outside, but I still like to go into the sauna. I couldn’t last long in there, but it was great. It was crazy how the entrance opens straight into the locker room with the front desk perched at the dividing wall between men’s and women’s sections. I’m starting to get used to old Japanese women seeing me naked, but its still a bit weird.
Bathed and cooled off, I hung around for the Cheers hour, chatting with the other backpackers as the filtered in for their free beer. While they ordered second rounds, I grabbed my salad and ate it. I had been thinking of going to a restaurant afterwards and entertained notions of getting a group together, but ultimately I grew bored of the company and just popped over to the supermarket to grab something more substantial from the deli section.
It was surprising to see the flock of vultures circling the boxed meals waiting for the discounts to be meted out and picking at the scraps of the day. I, myself, spent 20 minutes weighing options, ultimately buying some rice dish marked half-off, fried chicken, and a pack of cream puffs on sale. I ate them up in the back common room and I hoped for some quiet time alone, but eventually everyone else filtered in there.
I started researching and planning the rest of my trip in Japan amidst intermittent backpacker chatter. Still hankering for food, I ran across the street to get some chocolate cookies at the 7-11. When I finished them, I went to bed.
| Donut | 100 |
| Bus Ticket to Tokyo | 5980 |
| Todaiji Temple | 600 |
| Salad + Drink | 365 |
| Sento ticket (public bath) | 300 |
| Dinner | 800 |
| Cookies | 267 |
| Total: | 8412 (538.4 RMB) (USD 78.36) |