Nara

Last Tuesday, (I know, even Bryce tells me I am lagging in my responsibilities as the family blogger) we went to Nara. The kids were on Fall Break and Bryce surprised us by taking the day off. So we packed up the van (thankfully no trains, buses, or other public transportation this time) and headed the hour and a half to the grand city of Nara which used to be the capital long before any of us were around....from 710-784 A.D.. One thing about Nara that perhaps sets it apart from anywhere else in Japan is that it is overrun by deer. The reason being is that long ago a mythical god rode into Nara on a white deer. Since then, they are regarded as a heavenly, sacred creature. Well, we found that these animals, while neat to see and pet, were just about anything BUT heavenly. It apparently was mating season and the deer showed us more than we could have ever learned on the Discovery Channel. They were a bit more aggressive, as well. We decided not to buy the deer biscuits until we were just outside one of the temples. Apparently this was a mistake. We each got a biscuit and were preparing to feed the one or two deer that were nearby when suddenly 12-15 deer were coming at us quickly. They were head butting, nudging and pushing to get to the biscuits. Poor Tanner was swarmed, easy target, but then we hear blood curdling screaming and see Brynn running with her biscuit with a deer following in hot pursuit. Sooo, Tanner is swarmed, Isaac is trying to get the deer from bumping into me, Brynn is screaming, I can't get to either child, and Bryce is video taping while I am now screaming for him to help in some way. I am sure we gave the Japanese school groups and tourists much to laugh about at the dinner table that evening! Brynn now hates deer and this really puts a damper on the Deer Webkinz that she desired for Christmas and I had shipped to Japan just the week preceding this traumatic event. Hmmm....I see a future birthday present for a child in the neighborhood! One funny story....Tanner was determined to pet this baby deer that really did not want to be messed with. Tanner finally got close enough to it and the baby deer kicked Tanner with his front leg. Tanner looked at that deer with his classic Bowman frown and kicked back. Thankfully, neither Tanner nor the deer were hurt!

Next, we went to Todai-ji Temple which houses the largest Buddha statue in Japan and one of the largest in the world. It was an amazing building and while I thought it would be...'just another Buddha', I was wrong! It was impressive and while Bryce and I, Isaac and Brynn truly enjoyed seeing this piece of Japanese history. Tanner was a little less enthused and we found him trying to slide down the wheelchair ramp. We did have a great day and really enjoyed seeing the beauty of Nara. We went a little too early to enjoy the fall colors but next year we know to go a little later. Here are a few more of our favorite pictures in Nara:

Look at the deer laying next to the monk...we thought it was an interesting picture. These monks stand and chant while asking for money.

We went to this place, Kasuga Taisha, which was a temple but the actual walk to the temple was more amazing. We walked through a forest and these giant lanterns lined the pathway on each side. Hundreds and hundreds of them. Boy, I would sure hate to have the job of lighting each

of those things daily!

The picture on the left was one that we took overlooking a pond. Nothing big except that I bet in a few weeks it will be beautiful with fall colors. Then the picture on the right is a five story Pagoda named Kofuku-ji, that we were able to see. We couldn't go in but it was neat to see.