Nara Kohuku-ji 奈良 興福寺 7/20/10 part 4

After done touring around Kofuku-ji temple, and Buddhist statue museum, I am heading back to JR station.

On the electric pole, I found deer illustration which deer consider as a god at Nara.

People can rent a bike to tour around Nara. There is a traditional architecture Japanese tea house by the pond. At the edge of the pond, there is a map board of Nara city, and there is an information center that might answer your questions in Japanese and English.

I like the clock tower that has a Japanese old style stone roof. If seems like any public architecture has Japanese style tile roof, including a mail box I showed in another blog post.

The flags by stairs are for sighning of Fudo god shrine. Fudo is Acalanatha in Hidu, and they sets up at both Japanese shrines and temples.

They just renewed JR Nara train station building in 2010. The station building is also looks like a temple building, and it has heavy and solemn feel. 

You can go to Nara from both JR and Kintetsu lines. I think JR line is more convenient to downtown Osaka and Kyoto city, but from famous temples in Nara, Kintetsu line is closer. Because Kintetsu lines are built by famous temple and hiking roads, which seems to me like ancient pilgrimage railway. 

Deer electric pole

Old style tea house

Nara city map and clock tower

Information Center inside

Sarusawa pond

JR (Japan Railway) Nara Station building

Fudoumyouou Flags 西国札所

Clock tower with stone roof

Nara Kohuku-ji 奈良 興福寺 7/20/10 part 3

Continue walking around Kohuku-ji area... Walking at the East low area there is 3 story pagoda. And when I went upstairs to the wider area, they are 5 story pagoda, and other Buddhist temples and museum that exhibit different famous Buddhas from 5-6 centuries. 

In summer 2010, it was very summer hot day like this year, and it was a blue sky and it has cumulonimbus clouds appearing like cotton candies, so I felt like I wanted to include pagoda and sky in my pictures. White moon was there too, and I tried to capture to put by side of the pagoda. You can see very tiny moons though.

moon and pagoda

Nara Kohuku-ji 奈良 興福寺 7/20/10 part 2

Continue wondering around Kohuku ji. Date 7/20/2010
After leaving Sarusawa Pond, I am heading up to Kohuku-ji temple. By side of the stairs, there are zizos and deers near little temple buildings on the way.
I tried to take photos of deer. One looked at me, but when I took pictures, he/she looked down. tricky.

シカちゃん写真撮る時何回撮ってもなかなかカメラ見てくれなかった。
動物はムズイ。

(I recognized blogger has new format that I am writing now.)

I have never seen Maria looking zizo child. Normally zizo child also has a bald hair.

Nara deer is sacred like and Nara people treated as animal god.

Takehara May, 29 2010 広島県竹原市

2010 May, I went to Hiroshima and Okayama ken.

Takehara city, it was a small old town famous for bamboo forest and old district, I expect to see the old town for later showing to Alex.

I went by Shinkansen, normally I don't ride it, so I reserved the seat to Fukuyama and then transfered to local Takehara.

A local train ran by Setonaikai Ocean very close to the train truck and it was sunny and beautiful.

去年の５月、竹原に行きました。新大阪から新幹線に乗って福山からローカル線に乗って行きました。瀬戸内海が綺麗でした。

田舎の悪そうな高校生や、ラテン系の人達がいました。忠海駅の駅舎にスペイン語で落書きがしてありました。仕事なのか、ラテン系の人が住んでいるのかな？と思いました。

Shinkansen is arriving. People who clean inside of the train.

See how many train cars the Shinkansen is...

Riding on local train by Setonaikai ocean. It was very beautiful.

A station post of Tadanoumi Station. The tour guide says, there is a ferry to Okuno Island which there are many wild rabbits there.

It is a map of Okuno island. Island itself is a national park, and it used to be deserted island and keep only weapon during the WWII.

Takehara Station and the train I rode to came here.

It is well know for Kaguya hime princess of bamboo from the bamboo forest there.

An old house.

Edo period style window frame.

It says, when you can hold this zizo, you get a good luck. Unfortunately, it is sooo heavy and I could not hold.

A ring in the middle of old town.

A gate god is dragon.

I remember TV visited this temple too. Actually the old district is not to wide, so you can walk around in an hour.

Hirokawa Temple, 4/30/10 part 1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/galicias/sets/72157626247434302/


I was walking historical part of my neighborhood at Kanancho, Osaka.

It says, pathway to ruin of the Hirokawa castle. Ancient path, but putting concrete for hikers going to Mt. Katsuragi. For a self Tomason practice, as city finder, http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/2008/08/barangaroo-toma.html

it is getting important to me to find unknown sign posts and keep record with photographs.

It is the entrance steps of Hirokawa temple. I took a photo from the parking lot. The stone wall, stairs and sign poll are very old. The temple gate area is surrounded by pine trees. At the entrance, on the left, there is a belfry with a tile roof.

Another side of the Hirokawa temple garden. I took the photo from a narrow wooden passageway along the edge of the temple facing the garden. On the left there is a temple treasure house/museum, that they keep Kobodaishi historical records and his statues. I went to see inside of the house.

Here is another view of the temple house and garden. They make the little road as a part of imaginative river. They can go up, but I think it is a private property and visiter cannot go up.

Buddha at the temple alter. Even a little private temple, it has a gold decoration around the buddha and looked nice.

There are guardian gods behind the main gods.

They are wild grapevine. It is hard to see, but the purple berries are every where in the forest.

It says, Hirokawa dera (temple) in Japanese on the electric poll. I take photos of signs, so it excites me. (^_~)

This trip report will continue on next blog. Please continue checking my site. Thank you.