Nara 奈良市

According to an old Japanese legend, the first deer arrived to Nara to protect the ancient capital, and ever since they've been considered as holy creatures, that is, until this very day. That's right, Nara used to be the capital of Japan in the olden days and was considered as the "southern capital" for a good while after. Today, it's one of the must-see destinations in Kansai region with an impressive amount of temples, shrines, ruins and surely the fabled deer. I know I've said it like a million times before, but the deer were not the only creatures roaming around the grounds of Nara Park: "Excuse me. May I ask you a question?". And there they were - a zillion school kids going around asking people questions for their "English adventure in Nara" (I believe that was the literal trip name). But hey, they were totally adorable trying to initiate a conversation in English in spite of being overly shy and giggly. The downside here being that the entries to some of the main temples were so jammed that we settled for a quick look on the outside rather than paying and waiting to be in the middle of that hassle. And in all honesty, it was probably a smart move. After traveling the Southeast Asia for months, we were sort of slowly getting to a point where seeing yet another temple or shrine just made us shiver. Well, at least the ones we had to pay for ;). 

As soon as we stepped away from the main temples, we found more tranquility and calm around the park and really ended up enjoying the walk along the pathways that were framed with stone lanterns - most of them mossed with age. Whether it was the historic aspect or the beautiful milieu with all those animals, it's hard to single out a specific incentive, but something about this place got us all mesmerised...

{All pictures © Voyages of Discovery}