Day 4: Don't Fear The Deer
Nara is known mostly for deer, namely a species of Japanese deer that either through innate nature or just by being exposed to people for decades, are incredibly tame around humans and just mill around the giant Nara Park that encompasses a giant stretch of the city. This is not to say that Nara has nothing going for it aside from the deer. If anything, their large Todai-Ji temple complex nestled in a corner of the Nara Park is tremendously impressive even without the furry cuties mingling about, but from the signage, to the tons of stalls selling plush anime-ized deer, to so much else, the city begins adn ends with the deer.
We arrived at the JR Rail station and started on the walk towards the park. There is a straight road from the Rail Station to the base of the Kofuki-Ji Temple, which is a nice buddhist temple complex. It's a great initaition to Nara, the first place we encountered the deer (wandering pretty far away from where they mainly are) and a place that takes you from that main street to the entry point to Nara Park. When you reach the park there are just deer everywhere. It's overwhelming in its cuteness and really it is pretty special.
It is amazing just how not only unfazed they are with us being around them, but they seem to enjoy it. There are a bunch of vendors who sell little biscuit type things to feed them, but even if you don't have food, many will just come up to you, stare and look stoic and adorable. The deer generally are pretty small, but even in this mix there are a few young ones that just look too cute. Some have pretty sturdy antlers but given the size its more a neat feature rather than anything imposing. The deer mostly congregate in one or two known areas (mostly a chicken and egg situation since that's overtime where a lot of people go knowing there will be deer and they'll bring food and what-not), but they are just present everywhere aroudn the park.
This came into focus in the walk through the park up towards the Todai-Ji temple, where there are deer interspersed with some shops and a giant imposing entry gate. I have to say, these gates are all in some ways similar but endlessly regal nonetheless. The Todai-Ji temple is giant and so pristinely situated in Nara park. The main building also has one of the largest buddha statues I've seen, just empoweringly big in the center of the hall, with "smaller" golden buddhas to each side (guessing the small ones are plenty large). I've yet to go to most of the main Kyoto temples (the Kinkaju-Ji is a bit unique), but they'll have a hard time tomorrow trying to compete with this one.
The last stop on our protracted visit to Nara was lunch at Sushi Ichi. SOmehow we made it 48 hours into our vacation without having sushi, but as a place to break that streak, Sushi Ichi was pretty perfect. It was a very conventional, traditional, but super tasty sushi bar, with a counter where they live prepare the sushi for you, with some ratan tables in teh back. They give you a menu card with the different nigiri options and you just order. The only issue was there was no price listed so we were a bit unsure what we were getting into. In the end it was very affordable - for instance I got 9 nigiri (two come in each order) and it costed me ~$40. The nigiri was great, and they gave us a big bowl of soy with a brush to give each a paint before tasting. All of the ones I tried were good, the two standouts being the o-toro (fatty tuna - no surprise there) and the unagi, which was charcoal flash grilled with this sweet sauce with a hint of soy. That was brilliant, and encompassed three of my nine orders. Sushi Ichi was a really great spot.
We headed back from Nara a bit earleir than expected - the heat again making us go a bit faster through each of the sites than we otherwise would've. With the extra time we visited the Hogan-Ji, a giant temple complex a block north of Kyoto Station. And when I say giant, I mean the main building is big enough for them to claim it is "one of the biggest" wooden structures in the world. I can believe it too, it is truly giant. The hall of the two main buildings also had some of the most intricate art and sculpture work I've seen in a temple. Sadly, they don't allow pictures inside, but it was truly stunning.
From there, we headed towards the middle of the city, the area with inner roads with shops and restuarants and life galore. Truly, Kyoto is one of the better walking around cities. I had picked out a shop selling paper fans but even before we got there I ambled into a couple shops selling cook ware and dishes and the like. The first was ridiculously expensive, but the second standard enough that I picked myself up a teapot and cup set. The fan store was interesting and really well adorned. The price range was high, from some cheap ones, to a middle ground of $30-50 (which is where I focused) and then a bunch in the $100+ range. In the end, the place was a nice pit stop before we returned to the Stand Bar for a couple to refuel.
Dinner was at a mom and pop run Izakaya (Hasaku) which was special. Mom and Pop is the true description, with the pop being the chef, the mom doing some of the prep along with the main wait staff, and someone who I figure is the daughter showing up as an additional waitress at one point. We were seated at the counter, and it was just exactly what an Izakaya should be. A standard set of Izakaya dishes, all prepared immacutely, from an Octopus in vinegar broth, perfectly dusted fried squids, a great shrimp salad, japanese croquettes (mushroom and cheese filling), a great char-grilled mackeral, and the best dish, a incredible well braised pork belly in teh sweetest sauce ever. Hassaku was a great restaurant and I hope it has a bright future.
After dinner, we hit a few spots around Kyoto. The first was a place named Beer Bar Miyama, right donw Pontocho Alley. The place is small, but was filled with mostly foreigners (not too surprising I guess, this being late on a Monday) but the bartenders were three awesome Japanese youngsters that enlivened the place really well. For once most of the people in the place were American, but of course there was the customary Australian couple. The next step after a couple local brews was Bees knee's a speakeasy-style cocktail bar that was fabulous. Not too big, so we had to wait about 15 min, but once inside the dark, airy room we were entertained through colorful takes on traditional cocktails - such as adding a heavy cinammon flavor to an old fashioned, or a penniciln with kombu. Another great spot. Kyoto is really ticking off everything I like from a city. The night ended with a brief stop at Kitsune Club - a proper techno / hip-hop nightclub (one floor for each), which even that was a fine experience. Overall, Kyoto is a special place.
