Nara, Japan

For Nara's 1300th anniversary, a cartoon character was invented: a little Buddhist monk with deer antlers, who succeeded in annoying many real monks, presumably because they did not like being identified with him.

The train to Nara had deposited us next to a tourist office that had elaborate models of a parade float and a ship. The Japanese are master model builders and obviously enjoy it, as there were exquisite models everywhere.

The walk to & from the train station through the city was also picturesque - here are some sake barrels...

.. and bottles.

Pachinko parlors can be found everywhere. Here's an arcade geared to the youngsters.

The sidewalk was set with rock slabs that looked like they had veins of greenish serpentine.

This street corner sported a sculpture that looked like the inside of a Rubik's cube (if you've ever taken one apart).

The dreaded school group!  Japanese school kids take many field trips & love to practice their English lessons on hapless tourists. A few times isn't bad, but if you get caught in one of these groups, you may not surface for hours!

A typical - though larger than average - 2-storey, modern house with tile roof.

Asking for alms.

Hard to believe, but the fountains, trees & pillars are all a painted trompe-l'oeil scene!

A closer look at the trompe-l'oeil scene.  My favorite cities are many-layered, with hidden surprises to be found.

 

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