Asukaso

Go to the 'Todaiji'-temple to...

by Pavlik_NL

Go to the 'Todaiji'-temple to see the great 'Daibatsu'. The statue, as well as the wooden! building are of amazing proportions. You can enjoy the hall from the park in front of it. The complete surprise my friend got when entering the hall. Slowly her eyes were rising upwards, following the contours of the 'Daitbatsu'. It was a very funny sight to see the amazement in her eyes.

Kasuga Taisha Shrine

by tigerjapan

Kasuga-taisha Grand Shrine is generally believed to have been founded by the Fujiwara family in 768 A.D., the most important imperial court nobles of the Tempyo period. It was built as a tribute to their tutelary deity after the capital was moved to Heijo (present-day Nara). Classified as one of the "Three Great Shrines" of Japan, it is a sight not to be missed.

There are four shrines located there (for the different dieties). The architecture of Kasuga Shrine is called the "Kasuga style" due to the charismatic shape of its cypress-bark roof. The inner shrine is surrounded by vermilion-lacquered galleries. The shrine has 1000 hanging lanterns and maybe 2000 stone lanterns along the path to the shrine (i have a photo of hanging lantern on my Nara page).

Surrounded by a thick green grove, known as the 'Kasuga Taisha Shrine Jin'en Park'. It has about 300 kinds of plants and trees that appear in 'Man'yoshu' (Japan's oldest poetry anthology)

The present structure was last reconstructed in 1893. According to Japanese Shinto rituals, shrines were often destroyed and rebuilt every 20 years for purification purposes. Although this is technically the 57th Kasuga Shrine, exact reconstruction based on the original layout makes it an outstanding example of 8th century Japanese architecture.

You must see this Shrine if you are in Nara!

bambi here, bambi there!!!

by nathasha

become part of the bambi colony!!! if u have hard time of being accepted, invest 300 yen or so in a bag of deer cookies & it will do the trick; the bambis will come to u and u get great shots, such pretty brown eyes....i luv bambi ;))

Heijo Palace Ruins

by Rabbityama

When Nara was the capital of Japan it was known as Heijo-kyo. While none of the buildings from the original palace remain, the palace site still contains a few ruins and the land is still cut so that you can see where structures used to be.

All of the buildings on the grounds are modern reconstructions. The Suzaku Gate, East Garden, and Audience Hall were all built in the same style as the originals, but the originals all vanished long ago. One of the Audience Halls was built in 2010 for Nara's 1300th anniversary celebration (the ruins of the other audience hall are still visible on the grounds).

Flanking the sides of the palace ruins are the Nara Palace Museum (west side) which features artifacts uncovered during the excavations of the site and information about the archaelogical work done here. On the eastern side, they have preserved part of an excavation site so that visitors can see how it looks. The grounds are all free. Trains actually run through the southern end of the site.

Nara - Japan's first capital city

by catchan

"Todaiji"

Being Japan's first capital city, Nara holds so much history and it is always a pleasure walking through the old temples and buildings and experiencing history firsthand.

And speaking of firsthand, you also get to be friendly with the local deer ^_^