Japan Day 4: Kyoto and Nara

Another favorite thing of mine about Japan is that it is very clean.  I rarely saw any trash on the sidewalks despite the fact that there were also very few trash cans.  Our guide informed us that this was because Japanese people rarely eat while they are walking or traveling.  This made sense to me, except for the fact that there were an incredible number of vending machines everywhere.

Not just any vending machines, but vending machines that sold everything under the sun: sodas, green tea (hot or cold), cigarettes, energy drinks, cameras, beer, sake, Haagen Daas ice cream...

According to our guide, if we ever got lost or needed the help of the police, we should give them the serial number of the nearest vending machine as the best way to find us.

We started our next day with a trip to Nara to see the Todaiki Temple which is the largest wooden building in the world.  It also houses Japan's largest Buddha statue.

The city of Nara (where the Todaiji Temple is located) also is home to a ridiculous number of deer.  Which are everywhere.  And the deer are polite enough to bow when bowed to...although this was not caught in pictures...

After a tea ceremony, we visited the Heian Shrine, participated in a traditional tea ceremony, and caught part of a show at the Gion Corner.  

It was exciting to visit Kyoto because of how different it is from Tokyo.  As an "ancient" city, the architecture there is so different -- many traditional buildings, lots of wood rather than the tall glass and steel buildings of Tokyo.

This was also around the time that I finally got over the jet lag -- unfortunately, it was also our 2nd to last day in Japan.  Funny how that works...