So many temples, not enough time, and too many deer...

Today we hopped a train to Nara based on the recommendations of a few friends.  The temples there did not disappoint. We only visited the town for a few hours and saw just three temples, but they were spectacular.  I have really come to like taking off my shoes and feeling the smooth wood under foot while walking slowly around a temple and soaking in all the detail - up above, down below, and really all around.  It is a wonderful experience.

Despite great word of mouth about the town, and yes the temples were amazing, we were a little skeeved out by the enormous number of deer roaming every inch of the town and aggressively looking for food handouts.  After experiencing three temples, we decided to call it quits and head back to Kyoto. The deer really were too much for us.  Back in Kyoto we visited the Higashi Hongan-ji temple - very glitzy for Kyoto.  It is also the biggest wooden building in the world.  We loved it - even moreso because we were forced to hang out there for a long time as a thunderstorm passed by.  It was really nice to just relax there for a while.

And here are my Five Favorite Fotos from day 5 here in Kyoto...

Nature...

Too much nature.  Smelly, aggressive deer looking for food.  Hundreds of them.

Beauty...

Higashi Hongan-Ji's gold and dark wood set against a stormy grey sky.  Loved it.

Fun...

Butterflies with Buddha in Nara.

Spirit...

An older woman experiencing a temple in Nara.

Just liked it...

Not at all sure what I was seeing, but I liked the mix of colors and textures very much.

And more photos here at my flickr account.