Deer Friends - July 4

We woke up at the most civilized time of 7:00 this morning... as opposed to the typical 5:00 AM.  I do believe we're acclimating to our new time zone.  We hurried down to breakfast at 8:00 because my dear college friend, Chiemi, was due to meet us in our hotel lobby at 8:30.  We had just started eating, when we heard a cheerful voice hailing us, and there she was at our table!  Big hugs, after many years. She thought it had been over 30; I'm claiming I visited her in Tokyo once long ago, making in "only" 23 years.  Either way, it was a reunion long overdue.  We met and had lots of fun at Portland State together in the early 80's.  She lives in Kyushu now, and as that was just too far for us to go, she arranged a visit to her aging mother in Osaka during our visit to this part of Japan, so that we would be able to meet.  After some intense catching-up at the breakfast table, we all set off to explore Nara together.

Nara Park is a sprawling expanse of green containing various temples and cultural institutions.  It also happens to be filled with deer.  And when I say filled, I mean filled.  Papas with antlers, pregnant Mamas, teenagers, little babies...  They've been here - protected - for centuries.  They are accustomed to humans, and vendors actually sell "shika senbei" (deer crackers) so you can feed them.  They've come to associate humans with food, so often will come right up to you and you can even pet them while you feed them.  In fact, some of them can get fairly aggressive, nipping or butting if they smell the food but aren't getting any.  If you're not careful, you can get mobbed.  It's quite an experience and I thought Julia would have a lot of fun with it; and she did!

We also took in Todaiji, a Buddhist temple which claims to be the largest wooden structure in the world, and houses the largest bronze image of Buddha in the world.  The body was cast in - get this - 752.  Yes, really.  Twelve and a half centuries ago.  His head, apparently, did not survive the repeated fires and earthquakes it was subjected to and the current one dates back to only 1692.  The whole experience of something so ancient and large, not to mention the atmosphere often present in places of generations of prayer or worship - regardless of the religion, was humbling and a bit awe-inspiring.  I think it can be quite crowded and chaotic, but we were there early enough that we were able to experience gaps between groups and have some fairly quiet time to take it all in.  Around at the back of the building we came upon a wooden pillar with a hole through the bottom of it.  People were taking turns getting down on their hands and knees, then wriggling and writhing their way through the small opening and out the other side of the pillar.  There was lots of giggling, pointing and picture-taking involved.  We looked at Chiemi.  The meaning of this?  She had no idea.  We agreed that most likely it was some tradition about bringing good luck.  Now, that doesn't sound like a bad thing!  When in Rome...  So Julia and I did it too.  She made it look easy.  Then it was my turn.  Half ways through, as I began having some difficulty moving in any direction, I flashed on a vague memory of my friend, Mika, who claimed to have gotten stuck doing something like this...  I swallowed my panic, gulped my pride and thrashed my way through!  And I've even got some freaky pictures to prove it.

Then on to the Kofukuji (another temple) Treasure House which holds one of Japan's finest collections of Buddhist art.  It was small and very impressive - the best kind of museum when one has a 12-year-old in tow!

We plunged back into the heat in search of food.  I had ramen, and Julia, fried noodles again.  I realize I'm doing a lot of reporting on food.  But truly, it's one of the highlights!  After that, the pace slowed.  We strolled along a shopping corridor; Chiemi and I continued to catch up on each others' lives and Julia window-shopped.  By late afternoon, it was time to say good-bye.  It felt almost cruel to have to take leave again after such a short time, but we were also very grateful for the time we had.  Julia and I picked up some onigiri (rice balls covered with seaweed with goodies inside) and salad to take back to our room.  We just chilled - chatted, read and wrote post cards for the evening.  It felt good to just relax!