We will begin the day traveling by train to the nearby city of Nara. Nara was the original capital of Japan in the 8th century before it was moved to Kyoto. We will start our tour of Nara by walking through the heavily forested Nara Park. Here, we will find numerous temples and shrines hidden among the trees. Along the way, you can also fee the famous Nara deer. They have been since the 7th century, and roam freely protected by Buddhist traditions. At the far end of Nara Park, we will find Todaiji. Originally built in 752, the main hall is the world’s largest wooden building, despite the fact that the current building, built in 1692, is only two-thirds the size of the original building. Inside the building is Japan’s largest bronze statue of Buddha (it is almost 50 feet tall). After a lunch break, we will continue our tour by walking through the Naramachi. Naramachi is the former merchant district of Nara, where a number of traditional residential buildings have been preserved. Today, boutiques, shops, cafes and restaurants line the area’s narrow lanes. We will finish our tour of Nara at Kofukuji temple. Kofukuji temple was the family temple of the Fujiwara family, one of the most powerful families in Japan during the Heian period. This temple was created in 710, the same year Nara was made the capital of Japan. At its height during the reign of the Fujiwara family, there were more than 150 buildings on the temple grounds.
