Beginning Location: Kobe, Japan
Final Location: Inland Sea En-route to Hiroshima, Japan
We were up at six this morning as we had a long day’s tour that was to leave the ship at 0715.
Our tour began at the Ocean Terminal and with guide Ouzo we began what
would be an hour plus ride to Nara, the first capital of Japan. At Nara we
would see two temples, the first a Buddhist temple and the second a Shinto
temple and shrine.
The first temple, the Todaiji Temple dates back from the year
752 but has apparently burned a number of times and been rebuilt. The shrine
has a 50 foot tall Buddha, yes another Buddha. This shrine is located within
Nara Park often called Deer Park because there are so many people friendly deer
calling the park home. We purchased two
loaves of “deer bread” and the pictures will tell the story of that
undertaking.
The first temple, the Todaiji Temple dates back from the year
752 but has apparently burned a number of times and been rebuilt. The shrine
has a 50 foot tall Buddha, yes another Buddha. This shrine is located within
Nara Park often called Deer Park because there are so many people friendly deer
calling the park home. We purchased two
loaves of “deer bread” and the pictures will tell the story of that
undertaking. |
| RED SOX NATION IN JAPAN ! |
Following the deer adventure we visited a Shinto temple noted for having
2,000+ lanterns, mostly of concrete formation but some ornately metal lanterns as well. Here we were in time
for a “changing of the guard” of sorts. It was really some form of worship but
appeared to coincide with arrival of large tour groups.
A christening at the Shinto Shrine.
The deer are everywhere at Nara.
Our next stop was for an authentic Japanese lunch. We stopped at the Nara
Hotel a lodge apparently frequented by other famous people as well including
emperors, presidents and even Albert Einstein. Our authentic lunch consisted of
a squash soup, white dinner rolls, a mixed green salad, a veal cutlet with vegetables and a cream pie type dessert. Okay it was kind of authentic;
at least the wait staff spoke only Japanese.Real "Cherry Blossoms" at the hotel.
From Nara we drove to Osaka to visit the Osaka Castle; the most noted
landmark in the area. We were met with light rain in Osaka but it didn’t really
impact our plans and touring. 
The Osaka Castle dates back over 500 years but as with many things we’ve
seen it has been rebuilt on several occasions as the original and other
vintages have been ravaged by fire, internal strife and even allied bombing in
WWII. The castle itself is protected within a moated site. The moat and
adjacent wall are tremendous in size and have offered stiff resistance to the
hoards of invaders throughout history.
The current iteration of the castle is modernized internally and houses a museum collection of memorabilia from a variety of lords, samurai and shoguns that have ruled this area of Japan through history.
By 1630 we were back at the ship and had boarded for the evening’s
departure to Hiroshima.
We stopped in the Martini Bar for a couple of Margaritas and met up with
folks from Toronto and Los Angeles.
For dinner we headed to the Grand Dining Room where we sat at a table
for two but adjacent to a 75+/85+ year old couple from Sydney. As with so many of the
people we’ve met, they are cruisers. When it comes to world travel, it’s
obvious that we’re rookies as so many people we’ve met have been to so many
places throughout the world.
After dinner we were pretty much done for the day, no drinks and shows
for us tonight.
Onward to Hiroshima.
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