Nara

When we arrived in Nara, the rain had increased to a constant downpour. I had heard stories about the deer that wander about in Nara, and I was looking forward to seeing them; but our Japanese friends told me they would probably not be out because of the rain. I tried not to be disappointed.

After lunch we headed for the Todai-ji Temple, originally built in 743, home of the world's largest guilded bronze Buddha and other cultural artifacts. The statue is 49 feet in height. The original temple was destroyed by warfare, and the current one was built in 1709.

On the way to the temple, I peeked out from under my umbrella and saw deer resting under some trees. I was glad that I was able to see at least a couple of these animals, and I stopped to take some pictures. When I caught up to everyone else, they had bought some deer food, and Lisa and Tiffany were being pursued by the enthusiastic creatures. After all the food had been devoured and they had tried to eat Lisa's shirt, we continued up the street. As Lisa was recalling the time her young cousin had been freightened by geese who got overly excited about the bread he was feeding them, we heard the screams of some young children apparently caught in a deer feeding frenzy.

There were many more deer at the entrance to the temple milling about in the crowd looking hopeful. They often shook the rain off themselves onto us as we passed by, but we were so drenched already that it hardly mattered. It was all great fun, and I have to agree with everyone who told me that Nara is one of the best places to visit in Japan.