I caught a shinkansen down to kyoto, about a 3 hour ride from tokyo, and enjoyed a nap and a bento box…yum!
All throughout the train stations were big brother-ish signs like this
one. The childlike mannequins only add to the eerieness…is this how
the japanese see themselves?
Luckily those tiny little mannequins children can seek comfort from
good old uncle sam, known to those of us in the states as the colonel
of KFC. This was the first pic I took after getting off the hour long
train ride from Kyoto to Nara
Following that, vinh picked me up from the train station (not to
mention let me stay at his place for a few days-thanks buddy!) and we
met up with another friend of his and went out to dinner at a local
izakaya
Naho, who doesnt like pics being taken of her, and Vinh
If you look closely you may notice that my beanie has the letters CMS
on it in green. These letters stand for CHicago Medical School, not
“centimeters” as so many japanese people thought. Eventually, i got
tired of explaining, and simply answered one gentleman who asked me why
i had centimeters on my beanie in my hardcore surfer/rockstar
voice and said “cuz the metric system FUCKING ROCKS DUDE”
He tried to make a subtle escape. I tried not to laugh. we both failed miserably.
karma got me back in the end when several days later, this beanie was
stolen 
Now someone else in Japan who loves the metric system has my
hat
The next morning I decided to visit a few haunts in Nara before continuing on to Kyoto
Shrine near the center of Nara
engraved stone and cat on the grounds of Kofukuji temple
5 story pagoda on grounds of Kofukuji temple, located in the center of Nara
According to Japanese Mythology, when the first emperor of Japan,
Jimmu, descended from heaven, he rode on the back of a deer and arrived
in Nara. All deer in Nara are considered to be descendants of that
first deer and are considered holy sika deer, or messengers of the
gods. They are wild, given free run of the city, and very not afraid of
people. However, for security reasons, a number of the bucks will have
their antlers removed to minimize infighting or some such
Kofukuji Temple, central Nara
See what I mean about no fear from deer?
All throughout the city are vendors selling various deer related and
themed products, as well as cookies/biscuits that you can give to the
deer. 1 dollar buys about 10 biscuits. As soon as you give to one deer,
other pick up telepathic signals and bum rush you
See what I mean?
This time around i tried to feed just the babies and does, figuring
they would be a little bit less agressive. No such luck…this little
guy followed me around half the park, jumping up onto my bag and pawing
at me when he wasnt trying to stick his nose into my pockets looking
for more biscuits
r>
Just a short walk from Nara Koen is Todaiji Temple, the largest wooden structure in the world, and home to the Daibutsu of Nara
The original building of this buddha took up half of Japan’s bronze and
nearly left the country bankrupt. However, the current incarnation has
had a little touch up work done here and there by the monks and temple
staff
One of the guardians of Todaiji Temple
In the back corner of Todaiji Temple is a solitary pillar with a hole
in it. Legend says that if you can fit through the hole when you come
to todaiji, you will be blessed with a year of good luck (aka juju)
Once again, i made it through, and lo and behold, good times are
rolling! Note to self: continue returning to Japan to crawl through
lucky hole
Behind me is the buddha of healing. According to legend, if a
particular body part is ailing you, you are supposed to rub that part
of the buddha, and then the corresponding part on yourself, and your
pain/illness will be taken away. And look at all this time I have been
wasting in medical school 
The gate of Todaiji Temple from the inside of temple grounds
With the morning pretty much over, i caught a train back to Kyoto to visit a couple more old haunts
Kinkakuji, or the golden pavilion, One of my two favorite temples in Kyoto…i could stay here all day
Covered in Gold Plating, this was the residence of an emperor who requested it be turned into a temple upon his death
Bonsai!…They dont have to be Karate Kid, little, just miniaturized compared to the surrounding foliage
From there it was a short bus ride to my other favorite temple in Kyoto, and possibly one of my favorites in all Japan
The Zen Garden that started it all
It is normally a little prettier in springtime when all the flowers and trees above the temple are in bloom
There are many interpretations of what the rocks and their arrangements
are supposed to represent…I like thinking of this one as Japan itself
with a monjo sized fuji rising out of it
What do YOU think, blogosphere?
So there are a total of 15 stones in the zen garden, and while there
are multiple angles from which you can view them, there is only one
place in the entire temple that all 15 at once can be seen. I pointed
this out to a group of visiting school children and became an instant
celebrity
I had to stay in this pose while every single student you see in this
pic got it on their camera with the cool hairy american who knew about
japanese temples. The kid to the right of me was asking me about gang
signs and all the cool stuff in america 
The kanji on this fountain mark it as the fountain of knowledge and
three other virtues. I figured it would be a good place for a little
purification washing
More schoolchildren whose assignment from their teacher was to hold a
english conversation with the first tourist they saw…i am a-ok
suppaaa numbaa one celebrity
I even got to sign autographs in their schoolbooks…really!
The grounds of Ryoanji temple in winter
Soothing, isnt it?
From there it was another bus ride over to Gion, the shopping district
and also the location of Japan’s famous geisha and maiko (apprentice
geisha) Now geisha are not prostitutes, although that is what they have
ended up being forced to become…they were the original courtesans
trained in the art of conversation, instruments playing, dance, and
many other hobbies of the aristocracy,…think a bling bling escort
service with no nookie guarantee
Temple in center of Kyoto at Gion
Temple by day
The red/orange paint dates these building back to the Heian era of
Japan, when they were all still super impressed and influenced by
China, to whom red is a holy color
there was a festival going on this day too, so the inside of the temple
was closed, but one could still ring the bells attached to those giant
ropes and make prayers.
This famous okonomiyaki resturaunt in gion is totally not ripping off the johnsons baby.
Now one of the things i really love about Kyoto is that you can have a main street like this
And then turn a corner and be confronted with
juxtapositioning of old and new, temples and apartment complexes are part of Kyoto’s magic
The photo above is two maiko, apprentice geisha as seen from behind.
They tend to be camera shy and so i had to pull some sneaky guerilla
tactics to get them at all. Unlike geisha, they are not allowed to wear
the white face paint or anything until they gain full geisha-hood. Here
was the first shot, and then once i remembered andysensei’s teaching
and after…blurry cause i was running to catch up with them. Turns out
they were going back to the same temple for services that i had just
left
I finally headed back to Nara where I joined Vinh, Naho, and another friend of Vinhs for dinner and some quality karaoke
(3RD MENTION OF JOSH DOING KARAOKE IN JAPAN)
Tomorrow, the real adventure would begin…
-J
Note: Sorry to all of you for taking so long to get this post up, xanga
kept eating it or my comp would shut down. The Japan at last posts are
almost finished…just 2 or 3 more parts remaining…hope you all enjoy!
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