Comfort Hotel NARA

Shinto Tori-i Gate to the Kasuga Grand Shrine

by shrimp56

One of the many Shinto gates in Nara. The mixing of Buddhism and Shinto is an interesting characteristic of Japanese religion. Buddhism tells you to rely on yourself, while Shinto gives you a god to pray to when things get bad.

Oriental Healing Experience

by yamatoji

Treated utilizing meridian diagnosis to ascertain the imbalances of the body. Healer a licensed acupuncturist used acupressure, tuina, cupping, gua sha and other non-needling modalities to create a unique healing experience that encompass the spiritual, emotional, and physical well being. Payment was pretty low.

You must see Todaiji Temple too!

by Confucius

The world's largest wooden building is in Nara, Japan. That's it! You're looking at it! One of the main reasons it was built is to house the world's largest bronze buddha (16.2 meters) which was cast in 749.
One bit of Japanese historical trivia is the fact that this statue was designed by a Korean whose name in Japanese is Kimimaro.
You might detect some odd activity going on inside the temple. There is a large pillar behind the buddha on the right side of the temple with a small square hole cut through on the bottom. The Japanese ladies I spoke with claimed that if you can squeeze yourself through the hole that you will be sure to enter paradise. The same thing was said about a hole in a tree that I saw at Fushimi Inari Shrine south of Kyoto.

Other important sites worth...

by luciano

Other important sites worth visiting in the park are Kasuga-taisha grand shrine and Horyu-ji, Yakushi-ji and Nigatsu-do temples.
Twice a year during the Lantern Festival, many stone lanterns and about 3,000 suspended metal lanterns are lit at the Kasuga-taisha.
Nigatsu-do temple (photo) is located on a hill and allows a fair view of the park.

Nara - Ancient Japanese City

by Restless-in-kl

"Where Buddhism first appeared in Japan"

Nara is one of the largest ancient city in Japan and was established in 710. It is here than Buddhism made its first appearance and reached it peak when the world's largest bronze statue of Buddha was completed in Todaiji Temple

"Diahutsu - Bronze Statue of Buddha"

The Diahutsu is huge, standing at 53 feet and weighing 452 tons.

"Leafy green park"

Besides the temples and shrines, Nara is a lovely place to walk through its park. Go early and avoid the busloads of schoolchildren that come here for school trips. They were very noisy during our visit!