I Have Now Seen Nara

Wow, I can't quite belive it's been another 10 days since my last posting. I really do apologise for that, I had every intention of stepping up production, as per usual, my intentions have been goodly but unaddressed.

Speaking of dressed (crap segui hey?), I am sitting here typing this in my new (well, probably second-hand for the price I paid, but very clean and new-looking) yukata - summer-style kimono. It feels lovely and silky, it's bright red and has an interesting square neckline. I picked it, and a beautiful black one up in Nara on Tuesday. Nara was lovely, very tranquil, peaceful. I'm told it's not at all like Kyoto in this respect, Nara still had a few tourists and many a Japanese junior high student (apparently the Japanese even have a specific season for school excursions), but nowhere near as many as Kyoto. The temples and shrines were amazing, the way they've been so well-preserved speaks volumes of the Japanese tendancy towrds efficient and meticulous conservation. The colours were glorious, lots of bold reds, clear blues, bright yellows, and the occassional gold awning. On the whole, there were several stand-out temples as far as I was concerned. The Todaiji temple is a must. Inside is the most enormous stone Buddah you are ever likely to encounter. It probably stood (actually sat of course!) at around 20-25 metres high. Just incredible to gaze up into the massive flared nostril of a deity. It's a pity the photos I took on my phone's crappy camera will never be able to do it justice.

So Nara was fantastic, but seriously, after just one day (in total - Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning), having seen about 15 temples, countless shrines and several pagodas, I was a little cultured - specifically templed - out. Stayed on Tuesday night at funny little Japanese-style inn, called a Ryokan where they run you an enormous bath (small swimming pool sized) the minute you cross the threshold - my kind of place! They also provided us with Yukatas (in lieu of western bathrobes) for the evening. The Ryokan had a curfew of 10:30pm, which suited us fine after a day of trekking around the hilly side streets in search of the perfect temple. After an hour or so of relaxation, headed into the centre of town to do some shopping (the sales are on), which is where I picked up my two yukata and a cute hat, then had some dinner.

That was Nara, then back to Nishi Akashi on Wednesday, and had a loverly day off on Thursday due to a belated shift-swap. Last night (Thursday) headed to the usual Thursday spot - Bombay. But that's another story ... (read on MacDuff)