nara days, nara nights

i went to nara on sunday with amanda and it was amazing/fun. its what i imagined japan to be like before i came. for example:

- the 4 x 4 km park that was filled with hundreds of shameless deer who go up to you looking for food...a few even started to eat my shirt

- theres more shrines in temples there than in all of nagoya and the surrounding areas and they were impressive

- one temple was the oldest wooden structure in the world with the largest gold buddha in japan inside, but apparently theres one in gifu thats more impressive ive been told

- hiked up mt. wakakusa and got an outstanding view of the city

- you feel more of a foreigner there because people stare at you, say friendly hellos, and go up to you to practice their english...in nagoya youre one gaijin amongst many, especially now during expo

- theres udon shops on every corner and i love udon

- the 2 hour kintetsu train trip up there passed through some beautiful countryside

but if i may make a quick editorial...im not sure if this is cultural bias coming through or not, but so far ive visited the most revered shrine (ise) and most revered buddha (nara) in japan and i must say the feeling you get there isnt close to being as overwhelming as it would be to step into st. peters in rome or st. pauls in london or notre dame in paris. maybe because im much more well versed in european history than asian history, but i enjoyed the cathedrals in europe more than im enjoying visiting the shrines and temples of japan thus far. not to complain, because japan is wonderful and alot of parts of japan are far superior to europe. its just that i got more of a kick out of seeing a giant picture of jesus than a giant statue of buddha.