Nara was the first capital of Japan, from 710 to 784. This is the period when Buddhism flourished in Japan. On our morning trip, we visited Nara’s main attraction, the Tōdai-ji 東大寺, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Construction of temples here dated back to 728. The current temple was finished in 1709. Although its size of 57m by 50m makes it the largest wooden building in the world, it is actually 30% smaller than its predecessor. The temple houses a 15m tall bronze statue of Buddha. Throughout history, various part of the statue was damaged and recast. The hands were made in the Momoyama Period (1568–1615), and the head was made in the Edo period (1615–1867).

The grounds of Nara Park are infested (sorry, I mean endowed) with many deer. Locals believe they are messengers from the gods and allow them to roam freely. They become quite tame, in the sense of not frightened by humans. Local vendors sell deer crackers to tourists. The deer can be somewhat aggressive when begging for food.