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| Walking towards Shin-Imamiya Station |
Along the way, we passed rural landscape covered by a blanket of snow. About an hour later, we reached Nara Station. Next, we proceeded to buy the one-day Pass (500 yen) which would us to visit the main historical sites around the area.
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| Winter rural scape |
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| Nara Station - Mascot??? |
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| Exit from the platform |
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| Booth for the purchase of one-day Pass |
Outside the station, we hopped on the bus going to Nara Park and the first site, the imposing Todaiji Temple. The temple is reportedly the world's largest wooden temple built without nails. More details at Nara - Facts and Details. The place was crowded as it was the beginning of the years with many Japanese making merits.
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| Old Nara Station |
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| Tourist bus going to Nara Park |
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| Bus stop opposite Nara Park |
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| Crossing over to Nara Park |
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| Way to Todaiji |
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| Ground of Todaiji covered by snow, with the Daibutsuden in the background |
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| The imposing Daibutsuden |
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| The Great Buddha in the background, world's largest bronze statue |
On our way out of Todaiji, there were many stalls selling foods. We could not resist the temptation to try them.
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| Fried noodles with Japanese sauce |
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| "Interesting" Food |
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| Candied Pineapple slices |
We next proceeded to Kasuga Taisha (Kasuga Grand Shrine). The ground was wet and muddy following the snow storm the previous night. Reputedly Nara's most celebrated shrine, the ground was really packed with Japanese. The temple is flanked by the Kasugayama Forest.
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| Entrance to the Kasuga Taisha |
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| Familar sight - Sake Cask |
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| Packed with visitors - crowd control performed by temple staff |
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| VIPs making merits |
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| Sales of ornamental items at the shrine |
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| The shrine's renowned bronze lanterns |
Our next stop was the five-storey Kofukuji pagoda in the city. We took the return bus from within Nara Park and alighted the pagoda.
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| Bus stop outside Kasuga shrine's ground |
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| Cute kid feeding one of the many famous Nara deers |
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| Kofukuji entrance |
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| Group shot of the pagoda |
From Kofukuji, we decided to explore the city on our way back to Nara Station
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| One of Japan's many shopping street |
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| Shop selling Japanese pickled products |
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| Outdoor promenade leading to Nara Station |
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| Crowd outsite noodle shop |
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| Dropped by Nara Visitor Centre |
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| Looking across from promenade to Nara Station |
