Day 3: Nara

In Nara! 1 hour plus journey away from Kyoto Station by train.

The weapon to be popular among the deers: Shika-senbei (deer crackers)

Awww aren't they so sweet?

And how they softly nudge you for the crackers awwww you just can't resist those soft, lashed and big brown eyes~~

Liying kena terrorised by a few male deers.

The does are sweeter in temperament. 

Temples are all around Nara park.

Lol this deer looks so cute with the uncle. He was just sitting down there and doing nothing with the uncle. 

These two deers also, they just stoned there!

I actually tried a bit of the crackers. No taste one la. 

You look so unglam with you're eating!

Look at the his leg! Its resting on the uncle's thigh!

Yum yum yum~

Oh they've got like the cutest butts in the animal kingdom.

Another shrine. Don't know what's the name of the shrine but there were a lot of people admiring the sakura trees.

Pretty~

Pretty~

Pretty~!

...

Pretty!

Oh I love how their legs are folded when they sit down. SOOOO CUTE~

Wonder what's so interesting?

Lol cute boys. 

Kakinoha sushi! Rounded and fresh with a herby taste~

Todaiji. Damn its BIG!

Todaiji is the biggest wooden structure in the world, and built in the Nara period, (710~794 AD) it was destroyed by fires and rebuilt many times. The Todaiji now is 33% smaller than the original, but its still the biggest wooden structure in the world.

Agyo, one of the gate guardians. His mouth is opened.

Ungyo, the guardian with the mouth closed.

Todaiji is SUPER BIG. 

It certainly lives up to its name, which literally means big east temple. 

Peace.

The door is superr biggg

The daibutsu, or large buddha, flanked by two statues. I couldn't help but feel awed.

This tall wooden thing bothered me. Are they a flight of stairs? Because they are so steep I don't think its humanly possible to climb up.

Very intimidating statue. All the statues in there are super intimidating.

A hole where children climb through. I'm guessing its for good luck or something similar bah. Oh I read that this hole is the size of the nostril of the buddha!!

Ha! Looking at this makes me feel embarrassed. You can buy a tile at 1000Yen and write your wishes down. These tiles would be used in restoration works and so its like your writings would always be on the building. 

Scary wooden statue...

Kani kamameshi! NICE! I enjoyed the zensai best. 

Bus from Nara park to Nara JR station~

My butt and the back of my calves were really warm from the heater.

Kyoto tower, our lighthouse and guides us back to our ryokan. :)

Day 4: Arashiyama/Sagano

Breakfast. I tell you I've been eating sandwiches for breakfast everyday during my stay in Japan. But their sandwiches are goooooood~

Romantic Train station! 

Oh I love the retro train~ 

Lots of rickshaw in Arashiyama. The pullers are all young and strong and good looking! 8D

Tsubaki, or camellia. I'm so glad I got to see one of these trees! 

Bamboo forest. It wasn't as pretty as I'd have expected, one thing because it was really crowded and bamboo is really a dull green and not bright green. But still it felt good to walk slowly and enjoy the view around us, the bamboo sheltering us from the strong sunlight~

Geisha again! 

Crowded. :(

Feels like the shi mian mai fo movie, doesn't it? 

And we slowly make our trip up the mountain.

Super nice day~

Climbing this flight stairs left me jelly legged

Panorama of the mountain. ITS SUPER NICE SIAAAA. We sat down for quite a while to admire the scenery, and it was a pity we didn't prepare for a pinic on the mountain. I was envying the uncles and aunties who brought packed lunch and picnic mats. 

Cute flowers on the mountains. 

Yaezakura? One of the many species of sakura, its supposed to have more than 5 petals and a later bloomer. 

Not Venice but it still feels good to stroll along the river. The water is clear and green. What is Kallang river compared to this!

Vending machines are your good friends in Japan. 

You can see the rocks under the water WTH!

Oden. Quite good but not very filling and overpriced! 

Rickshaws. The pullers get really good money you know, 15 minutes for 3000Yen. But its real hardwork.

Tougetsukyo. I got no idea what's the big deal about this bridge except that its super crowded.

Arashiyama park! 

Yakisoba! Mmmmm~

We got a bit lost trying to find our way back to the station

At night we went down to Shijo, a very popular downtown shopping district in Kyoto. Went there to get a bag for my friend in Daimaru.

Last day in Budget Inn (the name of our ryokan). 

Breakfast: Yoghurt, sandwich and green tea mousse. 

Kyoto is very near Osaka. We took a 45 minute train ride down by the JR train. 

And to Shin-Imamiya, where our hotel is. Its a rather seedy place with quite a few homeless people and uncles who have no qualms with pissing in public in front of girls. 

My room. I like to sleep on a futon, so I chose a Japanese styled room. Its not as cosy as our ryokan, but I'm not that picky and I'm not complaining because this hotel is CHEAP! Its around S$30 per night only lor. 

And its got free porn, refrigerator and a table too!

I know what you're thinking, you sicko. Anyway, the important bits were all in mosaic so I didn't waste my time watching it. 

We nua-ed in our hotel for a bit and then headed towards Namba, a popular down town area in Osaka.

Very good place for shoppers. 

My stomach almost exploded after eating this, but its good stuff. 

The famous crab signboard. Actually there are 3 of them there so I dunno which is the original one.

The sun was so bright I couldn't see my surroundings.

So different from Kyoto.

Is it just me or do the guy in green look damn happy? 

This street is Doutonbori, lots of food to eat, we were full already so didn't eat anything much. It's a really long stretch of road. 

In Doutonbori you get to see the most ridiculous/cute/funny/wierd of signboards. Actually, in Japan you get to see all the weird signboards.

Lots of bicycles. They'd have made China proud.

The one thing you must eat in Osaka. TAKO YAKI. The tako is like damn big compared to the miserable xia mi you get in our pasar malam. 

Yiwen and Liying's idol on a big Toshiba ad. 

Why so many girls? 

Ebisu plaza! Its a really interesting place with all the Taisho era style decorations. 

I really like the inside! It feels like you've slipped into a different period of time. 

8D~

They even got these game stalls where you can win prizes, how cool.

Its a bit regrettable that I came in on a full stomach, or else I'd have tried the food from the food stalls. 

I love everything Taisho style, so romantic~ 

The famous Glico signboard. 

Shinsaibashi, a few hundred metres of shops. LOTS OF PEOPLE. 

The whole place is sheltered, cool eh. 

The male hosts really got the most ridiculous of hairstyle. Who'd want to entertained by a porcupine!?

UNIQLO! Opening in Singapore soon, yay~

One thing I don't like about Japan is their stalls mostly close at 8.00 Pm, which leaves us nothing much to do after this time. Dinner today again from the family mart. Tsukimi tororo soba noodles. Its good though, and very healthy I suppose with the half boiled egg, lady's finger and daikon paste. 

Watch tv session in my room! We'd turn in at around 12AM to 1 Am like that, then wake up at 8.30 Am like that. Talk about healthy lifestyle.

More to come~! 

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