Japan - Tour Day 10 - Iniri & Nara

Today was the the day of 1,000s+. We started off going to the Inari Temple. This is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands (5,000+) of vermilion torrii gates. Inari represents the Shinto gods of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds.

Then, on to Nara, a former (before Kyoto) capital of Japan. In Nara, we were in search of the shrine with lanterns - over 3,000 to be explicit. We found it at Kasugataisha Shrine - another UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site. 

Have I mentioned the deer?  They live in the city where the local people have developed healthy deer crackers for the visitors to buy and provide to the deer. The deer have become so accustomed to feeding off of the deer crackers and mimicking the Japanese, that the deer will bow to receive more crackers. It is quite an adaptation!

Then we moved on to the Todaiji Temple where the largest sitting Buddha in Japan - sits…Not only is the Buddha large, but the gates and main hall that house the Buddha are also large (although smaller than the two prior versions that were burned down).

Apparently, another big day tomorrow, let’s see what that may bring…

Quite