Another day another journey, this time on Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. As usual the train was extremely comfortable and after yesterday’s exertion I fought off sleep after enjoying my hog sandwich:
Kyoto wasn’t my final destination, just a step on the way. Moments after arriving (the bullet train from Tokyo took about two hours) I hopped on another train and headed for Nara, where I will stay the next two nights.
It began raining almost immediately after we’d left Kyoto, and it was fun to watch the rain hitting the large scenic windows of the train. I knew wet weather had been forecast, and wondered what effect this would have on the famous deer that roam the city.
A quick meal upon arrival, and then I dropped my suitcase at my hotel. It seemed much fancier than I expected. More on that later…
It’s been almost ten years since I was last here, and judging by their reaction the deer had missed me!
They weren’t even slightly bothered by the rain, and as usual roamed around the large ‘park’ east of the city going where they wanted and completely unfazed by the throngs of tourists!
Something about me seemed to interest them, and even before I purchased ‘deer crackers’ to feed them a few had nibbled on my (fashionably pink) shirt!
When I actually bought the crackers things got insane. I was immediately surrounded by deer who aggressively assaulted me for crackers! One even put his front legs on my chest and stood up as I raised the crackers in the air! The above is a still from a video I took during this feeding incident. I had intended to give a cracker to the one at back but another swooped in from the left and took them all!
I love these guys. They’re cute and friendly and it’s wonderful how they tolerate tourists so well, even when they don’t feed them.
By mid afternoon the rain had worsened so I took refuge in a covered shopping street near my hotel. This was a hotbed of interesting shops including a stamp collecting store, a vintage anime shop and a fascinating used bookstore. Since Nara is a major tourist destination there’s also a bevy of souvenir shops, and I was able to find many good postcards!
I stumbled upon a traditional Japanese shooting range where you use a compressed air gun to shoot cork pellets. If you knock down the targets, they’re yours!
I’ve got no real experience with firearms, but you can probably tell from my form in the above photo that I mastered them almost immediately. No less than two of my seven bullets (29%) hit targets, which is no mean feat considering I stood a whole six feet away!
The prizes (terrible candy) were of course trash, but one gave me an idea for today’s blog title 🙂
My hotel is Japanese style (I’ll sleep on a futon on the floor) and not just the biggest hotel room I’ve ever had in Japan but also the biggest I’ve ever had anywhere! It sleeps ten!! I didn’t know this when I booked it, but it’s a comically large room that I’m sure I’ll be very comfy in 🙂
I just got back from a soak in their outdoor onsen, which was amazing. It’s raining heavily now and half the bath has a semi-covered roof (as you can see in the photo above I took from their website) that the rain dribbled through. I sat in the steaming hot water with cold rain falling onto my head and it was absolutely heavenly.
The rain will continue tomorrow but much lighter than today. While I will of course go and see deer and historic sights, my hotel is so well located I won’t have to use public transit and will be able to easily return for a soak or siesta. In other words, a bit of rest and relaxation would be nice 🙂