17+181108

Im back,

Well I dunno what was going on with my blogger access but I have got it back.
New pics from Ise, yesterday and today Nara. Ise was really nice, don't let the lack of pictures fool you. The shrines were not much to look at compared to what I have seen previously. I am pretty sure these were shinto shrines which is probably why they were plain compared to the others. Although not much to look at the place had this vibe and as you all know I am not religious but you could feel it, except when a tour group came past and the guide started yelling whatever. I was reminded of the phrase "hows the serenity" but doubt any of them would have known what I said let alone pick up the cultural reference. Anyhow when I was out of earshot of the tourists it was incredible. These shrines are rebuilt every whatever years as per some holly dudes decree so that may also explain the lack of detail. All of them are set in this big forest which was just gorgeous. Birds twittering, that smell of a rainforest which is the same here as in oz and a helicopter buzzing around overhead. Hows the serenity.

Today was Nara which was also gorgeous. Lots of gardens and lakes and of course the Baidutsuden. Wow, the Baidutsuden is incredible. The building itself isn't that old anymore as it was lost to war and fire a few times but the great Buddha statue inside goes back to the 7th century. Insane, he sits on a lotus and each leaf is intricately carved diagrams that basically illustrates the whole buddhist philosophy. The incredible part is that each leaf is supposed to be identical. Now I can't verify that as you can't get close enough to see the leaves but it wouldn't surprise me. The place was swarming with school kids and tourists so not exactly a solem moment but damned impressive. I took a big vid of that as there was too much to photograph plus I wasn't keen on flashing the Buddha with his guardians there. Still haven't go the video thing working but I am on it so soon. There were a few other shrines about and I managed to get to a couple of them and this little museum thing that wasn't on the map but had a special exhibt of some original armour and swords from samurai days. Very cool stuff. The also had this pair of huge drums that apparently had been replicated at great expense. While I was looking at the originals and the replica's I noticed that there was an error. On each of the drums in the middle they have this symbol I have been seeing all over Japan. Now I checked this out a few times. On the replicas the two drums have different symbols in the centre. On the originals the symbol is the same and on the sketches of the originals the symbol is the same. None of the other people seemed to notice and pictures were not allowed so I can't back this up with images but I am sure somewhere someone screwed up big. The cost of the replicas was something like 60 000 000 yen which is why their known as the worlds most valuable drums so I am guessing someone lost their job for that.
The swords were gorgeous. All originals dating back to 12-14BC with scabards and two sets of armour, one battle use and one parade use also originals, both were beautifull, whish I could take pics in these museums as I would really prefer to record the things I have seen in those than some of these shrines.
Anyhow, that took up all day. Wandering the parks and shrines instead of power walking like so many other tourists foreign and Japanese. There was this one pair that really got me. I was reading this thing about the base of a temple that used to be in with the 5 story pagoda, they come up and read along with me. Blah blah dates back to 5th century or whatever, then they go and sit on it!! I'm like WTF? they just finished reading about its history and cultular heritage and they don't think it might be wise to park their asses somewhere else? weird.
Had to hustle back to get the last rapid service train home which takes an hour as it is. Got dinner from a new place tonight and was dissapointed. I am about to go out again and get some instant noodles as it did not do the trick.
Tomorrow Hrioshima, tickets booked and all so will let you know how that goes tomorrow night.