Despite stumbling out of bed this morning with a numbing pain in my right lower leg and a stabbing pain in my back, I found today to be one of the more interesting and pleasant days of the trip.

We took a train out of Kyoto today toward Nara – the once Capitol of Japan. The moment the train left the city and people started to rush off was the moment I felt a whole lot better. By the time we reached Nara over an hour later, we were the only ones left on the train beside a ground of tourists. As the train was leaving the city, I started to notice gardens popping up from time to time and at times, I could see what was growing in them as I am growing the same thing at home.

Nara made me think of my grandmother’s hometown, where I first developed the desire to garden. Unlike Tokyo and Kyoto, Nara is quite rural. In fact, I couldn’t find many notable landmarks when I did my research 2 nights ago.

The first destination was Toshodaiji – a temple built according to China’s Tang Dynasty architecture. Personally, after seeing so many temples in Kyoto, I have no interest of seeing another temple ever again but this temple is different. It has very few visitors, which allowed me to have the place to myself.

Coming from a dry climate, I don’t see moss very often unless I’m hiking in high elevations. Therefore, moss is quite exotic in my opinion. The moss in this temple covered just about every inch of the floor. Perhaps what they say about Mother Nature being a modest lady is true.

It was quite a beautiful place. The only downside was I was being murdered by mosquitoes but what does one expect when it’s 70% humidity outside?

After returning to Nara Station for a quick bite to eat, we headed to Nara park, where it’s home to a large group of Bambis (deer). They are quite photogenic, don’t you think? I had a blast photographing them. In all the YouTube videos I’ve watched on Nara, people recommended visitors to buy a bag of crackers to feed the deer.

Um, no thanks. I don’t want to spend the time having to avoiding the animal chasing me because my hands smell like crackers.

We are moving for the final time tomorrow to our last stop – Osaka. I’m looking forward to shopping at the camera store and hoping to get a macro lens for my camera. Wish me luck.