One of the first cities I visited on my trip to Japan was one of the oldest, Nara, which was the first capital city of the Japanese people in the 700's. Even with all the amazing history and spiritual monuments in Nara the first word that comes to mind is always "deer". That's because free range deer are everywhere and very friendly with people (especially if you have anything resembling food). After the orgy of attention that comes with buying some deer crackers and feeding the deer I listened to a lecture on Buddhism by the head abbot of the Todai-ji Temple.
After learning a little about the history and concept of the temple I had a chance to see the iconic Great Buddah statue which was spectacular. The statue is about 50 feet high and an amazing work of art, especially housed in the red wooden temple. The spirituality flows deep in this city and it's a great way to start the tour across Honshu, the main island of Japan.
