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| Nara was the first real capital in Japan, from 710 to 794. Small city -
less than 400'000 inhabitants - it is located closely to Kyoto and Osaka.
Todai-ji is a hue building, in which is found the Daibutsu - Great Buddha. Although the actual building was rebuilt in 1709 at the two third scale of the original one, it is still the biggest wooden building in the world!
Detail of the Kasuga shrine :
The 5-stories pagoda, located outside Nara:
Nara is probably my favorite city in Japan. Because it is resonnably sized, it is easy and pleasant to walk around the city. There are many temples and parks, with a huge quantity of deers that wander around. Many festivals also take place there, especially during obon. For the Festival of the Deaths, many candles are lighted at night. Walking around at that time leaves a very strange impression. Highly spiritual experience... The road leading to Kasuga shrine is borded by 3000 lanterns that are lighted for the occasion. Unfortunately, half a million Japanese also want to enjoy this sight, making this visit also highly spiritual... but for very unfortunate reasons!
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