Nara, Japan

Nara's primeval forest is also a World Heritage site.

Vermillion torii in a nested sequence.

Hanging lanterns in a temple.

Temple buildings interlock like puzzle pieces.

The peaceful scene flows up and down hillsides as if it were always like this.

The deer roam wherever they like.

Torii, water and lanterns.

Trunk of an enormous cedar in the courtyard of a shrine.

Twice a year, in February & August, the lanterns are all lit at night.

"Are we exploding out ...or imploding in?" (The Who, "Fragments")

Moss everywhere.  Does it survive the winter, or does new moss sprout every spring?

Nara is 1300 years old this year, and was the first permanent capital of Japan.

Only 75 years after Nara was founded, the Buddhist priests grew too strong, so the capital was moved to Kyoto.

Ironically, moving the capital to Kyoto probably saved a lot of buildings and forest from burning, which seems inevitable whenever there are enough humans around, so visiting Nara is like stepping back in time.

I didn't get a good photo of it, but this is a sapling growing in a large, hollowed-out, mossy trunk.

The trees sometimes lean very precariously.

The 5-storey pagoda of Kofuku-ji, built in 1426.

Another view of the 5-storey pagoda.

The 3-storey pagoda of Kofuku-ji, built in 1143.

Some more well-dressed statues, lanterns and stones.

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