After Kyoto, we moved on to the smaller city of Nara, and stayed in the most traditional-style accommodation of the trip (the one from the photos above). The city was spacious and peaceful, with a huge park full of shrines, monuments etc on its Eastern side. Over 1200 very friendly deer roam free in the park and the parts of the city close to it.

Nara Park

Isuien Garden - said to 'borrow scenery' from the hills and building behind it.

The imposing and impressive figures below guard the entrance to Todai-ji temple:

Todai-ji Temple, which houses the world's largest bronze Buddha (Daibutsu) statue:

Various pictures of sights and gardens around Nara:

By the pond in Nara City

We took the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) from Kobe back to Tokyo, great experience for a train freak like me!

Check out how the speed bent the houses in the foreground of the picture above

Finally, three of my favourite pictures from a very successful Kansai trip, thanks for reading! More from Tokyo in the next post...