11042009 Nara in Spring

Decided to head to Nara with two other Vietnamese girls who were heading there today to meet their friend. We got onto the same train together from Rinku Town, but missed out Shinimamiya stop because we were too engrossed in our discussions, so we had to get off at the next stop to catch the train back in the opposite direction. From there, changed to the JR line which would bring us all the way to Nara.

We got up the next train which came along at the 2nd platform, but the driver told us it was a local train, and it would take us a longer time to get to our destination. We got off at Oji and changed trains again for the 3rd time this morning, and finally it was the right one. As we drew further and further away from the heart of Osaka city, the scenery slowly morphed into one with more greenery, and streams running beside the train tracks, making it splendidly beautiful on a spring morning.

Finally we made it to Nara! But the Vietnamese girls missed their promised meeting time with their senior by almost half an hour, so they had to go searching for her. I on my own spotted this ‘Nara Walk’, which also offered English guided tour, so I approached them. Better to have a guide for 2,000yen and understand what is going on, since I don’t really trust my half-baked command of Japanese yet.

My guide was called Sachiko-san. After learning the outline of the guided walk, we headed off to the next train station to pick up more people. We passed by an old wooden house along the way, and there were a lot of old people crowding around the doorway. Sachiko-san went ahead to see what the fuss was about, then she dragged me in to take a look to.

It appeared that they were admiring this sakura tree which was in full bloom. Stilts had to be put up to support its branches, which were overflowing with the pink blossoms. Among the gasps of admiration, were exclamations of ‘Utsukushii…’ From that moment, sakura would defined the definition of utsukushii for me for the years to come.

We then moved on along the streets, and passed by an old shop selling traditional sweets. Sachiko-san mentioned that it was a very old shop famed for its mochi-like sweets. We didn’t stop to buy any that day, and it would be more than a year before I got to taste it. At the next train station, we were joined by 2 Malaysians on honeymoon, and a Japanese lady named Yukari-san.

Our first stop was this pond with a legend. Most of the stories from now on were related to us by Sachiko-san. According to an old legend, a court lady drowned herself in this very pond, because she had lost the love of the emperor’s. The god which overlooked this pond was so broken-hearted over the incident, it turned its back away from the pond, not wanting to ever look at it again.

We then walked on to a crossroads where 6 roads met. It was believed that the 6 roads represented the different paths of life in Bhuddism. From here, leading upwards was a flight of 52 steps. 52 represented 52 ways to enlightenment in Bhuddism beliefs. We took the steps and counted them one by one, and there was exactly 52 of them. What greeted us was the main hall and lots of deers lazing around, waiting to be fed.

Walking through the park, more deers appeared with their doleful eyes, begging to be fed. Yukari-san bought us some senbeis which were meant for the deers, and almost immediately, they turned into devious animals. Legend has it that a god appeared in Nara on the back of these animals, so they are very respected, and are free to roam around (sniffing out food and eating it).

We soon came to the Todaiji, and I was pretty excited about it. It was said to hold the largest Buddha statue around inside. And outside on its lawn, sakura trees were in full bloom surrounding the walkways, and it was a superb sight to behold.

Made our way inside the main hall and was introduced to the two guardians of the door. One had its mouth opened, to symbolise the first vowel of the Japanese language 「あ」 and the next had its mouth shut to represent 「ん」, the last consonant in the language. Together it means ‘We’ll protect the world from the beginning till its end’. Each of the statue was made in 69 days from 3000 blocks of wood. And in the inner hall, the Buddha statue was made from copper.

I was impressed by the grandeur of the Bhuddha. Sachiko-san took me aside and told me that this angle was the best one to take a picture of the statue. There was also a hole in a pole, said to be as large as the nostrils of the statue’s, so people were lining up to squirm their way through it. Gave it a pass and bought o-mamoris instead.

Outside was another lone statue sitting there, said to be a disciple of the Buddha’s. Apparently because he kept showing off his powers, he was punished to sit outside the hall. It was also said that if you rub him, followed by a aprt of your body which has an ailment, it will heal.

We then took a little mountain route to head to another shrine, which I can’t remember its name. Passed by green young maple trees along the way, and a little shrine, hidden away between the folds of the mountain.

As we trekked up the hill, a strong gust of wind blew, and along with it sakura petals were scattered across the blue sky like snow. Sachiko-san mentioned that it was called hana-fubuki. It was like snow, replaced with pink flower petals.

We stopped at the top to get a drink and enjoy the scenic view of the Nara town spreaded out before us. All that aches in the leg was definitely worth this view.

Our last stop was Kasuga shrine, one which boasts over 3,000 lanterns and was linked to the Fujiwara family. It was also said that their family feuds were also recorded in the Heike Monogatari, a book which I only got to read 2 years after returning from this place. Here, we parted ways with the Malaysian couple as it was the end of our tour.

Sachiko-san brought Yukari-san and me for lunch at a local restaurant, before Yukari-san went off to do some shopping, and Sachiko-san showed me the way back to the station. I thanked her for being my guide and got on the next train back. Met 3 tourists from Denmark along the way who was as lost as I was, but they offered me strawberries to eat.

Made it back to Rinku Town in one piece, and cycled out to buy groceries. Was lazing in the room after a long day when my friend knocked on my door. She was also back from her adventure in Naruto, where she saw amazing whirlpools and recorded clips of it to share with us.

As for me, I prayed very hard in the Daibutsuden, to thank the god for the chance to study in Japan, and also I wished to return to Nara again. Little did I know, that wish came true after many heartbreaks and stumbles, and I was glad to be back in Nara again during a different season.