My Last Days in Japan - Nara, Osaka and Fukuoka

As I write this, I'm sitting down Indian-style on the floor of my room at a "ryokan" in Fukuoka, Japan.  This city is located on the southwest side of the country in the Kyushu region.  And what's a ryokan, you ask?  It's a traditional Japanese style inn, usually family-run, with Japanese style rooms.  The room is very spartan...my bed is just a (not very padded) mattress on the floor, and bathrooms are shared among all guests.  I wanted to try one of these rooms before leaving Japan, so it's fitting that I stay here for my last night in this country.  Although I'll admit, it's a hard transition considering I stayed at a magnificent 4-star hotel in Osaka last night.

Full Nara photo album - click here

Nara
After leaving Kyoto, I made a day trip to Nara before while en route to Osaka.  Nara is approximately 45 minutes by train in between Kyoto and Osaka.  It's a very historic city (like Kyoto) and it used to be the old capital of Japan once (also like Kyoto).  My guide book told me that if I only have one day to spend in Nara, go straight to Nara Park.  So I checked my giant (40 pound?) backpack at a locker in the train station, and went straight there.  (I kid you not, the backpack is heavy as all hell)

Nara Park is famous for its local deer population - the deer will walk right up to you and you can feed them crackers.  This was simply unbelievable coming from America, where if a deer hears you break a twig it will dart off before you can even grab your camera (or rifle, for some).  Seeing was believing - the rumors were true.  I bought some "deer cookies" right away and was anxious to feed them.  I pulled them out and fed one to a deer, and then a mob of deer surrounded me and started bumping their heads (and antlers) into my legs. They saw the cookies, and did not stop until all of the cookies were gone.  All the locals thought it was hilarious and laughed at me as I was mauled by a group of deer.  Lesson learned - CONCEAL the cookies.

There are over 1000 deer in Nara Park and the Japanese revere them as spiritual entities.  It is a grave offense to harm these deer.  For a long period of time, they were viewed as more valuable than humans under the law.

While in Nara Park, I checked out a number of ancient temples.  The park is truly massive, and going from one landmark to the next can take over 30 minutes of hiking.  Here is me at the famous Todai-ji Temple:

The Todai-ji temple was the largest wooden structure in the world up until 1998.  It houses the world's largest bronze statue of Buddha, which must have been about 5 or 6 stories high and weighs 500 tons.  It has been destroyed and rebuilt twice over its long history.  I also went to the Kasuga-Taisha Shrine, which is also a UNESCO world heritage site and was founded in the year 768 AD.  The path to this shrine is famous for its stone lanterns.

After seeing these sites and feeding a lot of deer, my legs were spent and I made my way back to the train station.  The one thing I will note about this place - it's completely unique.  It has a rich and ancient history, and no amount of money can create a deer population that is accustomed to interacting with humans.  That must have taken generations (centuries?) of humans treating the deer kindly - and the deer slowly learned to trust people.  There is no place like this on earth, and if it is ever destroyed, there will never be another like it.

Full Osaka photo album - click here

Osaka
While in Osaka, I stayed at the Monterey Grasmere Osaka, which is conveniently located right by the JR train station.  This hotel was insanely nice compared to my other ones...gotta splurge a little bit right?  Here is the main lobby:

Since the weather was rainy and cloudy I decided to spend my day in Osaka at its famous aquarium.  Supposedly it's the biggest aquarium in the world, but I got through the whole thing in about an hour an a half at a leisurely pace.  Unlike the open setup of the Shedd Aquarium, you follow a path through the aquarium and you cannot revisit sections that you pass.

It was a very nice aquarium.  Afterwards, there was a street performer doing a show outside who I watched for at least 30 minutes.  His show was simply fantastic.  He could juggle flaming pins, stand on a ladder, juggle while on a ladder, do magic tricks, etc, and he kept the audience laughing the whole time.  He picked on me almost right away since I was the only white guy in the audience (I sort of expected this to happen).  He would say his lines, and then turn to me and say them again in broken English.  He also made me hold this pink "Love" sign during his show, as a joke.  Here is me and the amazing Mr. Apatch - I hope you are lucky enough to catch his show if you are ever in Osaka:

Fukuoka
Today I took the shinkansen (bullet train) for the last time - another 2 and a half hours southwest to Hakata Station in Fukuoka.  While on the train, we passed through Hiroshima.  I was astounded to see that the city is a sprawling modern metropolis.  You would never be able to tell that a nuclear bomb leveled this city back in 1945.  I even saw a Costco from the window of my train car.

I didn't have a lot of time to explore Fukuoka, but I did visit a sushi restaurant that my guide book recommended.  Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me, but the sushi was affordable and excellent - only 200 yen ($2) for a plate of 6 wasabi tuna rolls, for example.  You would make your request directly to the chef and then he would make your order right in front of you.  They had every kind of sushi you could ask for - even whale (sigh...)

The ryokan, my hotel, is like staying in a person's house for the night.  A little dog greeted me at the front door.  The owners are an old married couple and they live downstairs - the hotel actually is their home.  My room is very empty, except for a mattress on the floor and a TV.  Interestingly enough, however, the wi-fi connection is probably the best I've had yet in Japan.  Here is my room:

I need to go to sleep...it's getting late and I leave for Korea tomorrow.  More updates to come as soon as I get the chance.  Sayonara, Japan...the time went by too quickly.