Japan Round 3

Time to go and pet some deer!

Our third day in Japan was filled with cute deer, a huge Buddha, shopping, and lots of rain. 

We left Osaka in the morning and made our way by bus to Nara, another city in the Kansai region. It took us less than an hour to get there. We went to one of the biggest tourist attractions in Nara, the Todaiji Temple and Deer Park. 

At the deer park, there are hundreds of wild deer just roaming around. You can walk up to them, pet them, buy biscuits and feed them and take pictures with them. They were all so nice! It was kind of weird because back in the States if you were to approach a deer, it would just run away from you. These deer let you walk up to them and sometimes even came over to you! 

Deer everywhere!

So cute!

See that little guy over there?

There he is!

He looked so cuddly so I decided to pet him. 

Beware of what the deer are capable of! We didn't run into any mean deer though. 

Todaiji Temple. 

The temple is home to the biggest Buddha statue in the world!

Mr. Buddha. 

Gift shop. 

Me with the Buddha. 

One of the Bodhisattvas sitting next to the Buddha.  

This one gives you a pretty good idea of just how big this thing is. 

From the back. 

It's said that if you can fit through the hole in this pillar then your wish will come true. So a lot us tried to go through! The hole is a lot bigger than it looks. This is Kathryn's second or third attempt!

It was pretty cool. There were multiple groups of people standing around watching people do it. Each group spoke a different language. We were all standing there laughing with each other. It's amazing how funny little things can bring people together. 

Me being pulled through!

It's said that if you are hurt or not feeling well, you can touch the part of you  on this guy that isn't feeling well and you will be cured!

Then we did some more exploring around the grounds.

Possibly my favorite picture from Japan. :)

We were confused as why there were so many school children out on a Sunday. Apparently Japanese school children frequently go on field trips on the weekends. 

Making our way back down the hill. 

Don't fall in!

My Japanese pen pal, who I have had since 6th grade actually lives in Nara! We were trying to make plans to meet up while I was there, but we couldn't quite get a hold of each other in time. It turns out that she was at the temple at the exact same time I was and she was looking for me! But we never saw each other! Crazy! I guess we just weren't supposed to meet that day. I know we will one day though!

The second half of the day consisted of heading back to Osaka and doing some shopping!

Big, fancy department store. 

Lush!

We had sushi for dinner! Although I don't really like fish that much, I had to try sushi in Japan!

The people who worked here were really nice. 

It was pretty tasty!

Photo booth time! Time to make some creepy-cute pictures!

After you take your pictures, you can decorate them. It's pretty elaborate. 

AAAAHHHHH! Can you hear heaven's gates opening? This place was multiple floors and had everything Hello Kitty that you could ever think of. Do you want a Hello Kitty phone charm? Choose from a selection of a few hundred different ones. No joke. 

America. 

Rain. 

For our 2 nights in Osaka, we each got our own hotel rooms! It was so legit!

These controls were on the headboard. You could control the lights, air conditioning, alarm clock, reading light, and classical music all from one place. Haha it was awesome. 

Last day in Japan is next! See you soon!

Hails