Mom's visit, part Three

Another big day ahead of us, we headed out to the Westin Miyako Hotel, where they have a traditional tea house. We received the traditional tea ceremony and had it explained to us. The ceremony, like all zen things, is focused on the way it's done. Each movement is specific and precise, and all parts are to be enjoyed, including the making, the drinking, the cup it's served in, and the decoration of the space itself. The cups and decorative alcove also reflect the season by having something representative present.

From there, we got on a 45-minute train ride to Nara. It was the ancient capital of Japan before Kyoto, up until 794 AD. From the train station to the tourist attractions, we walked through deer park, where hundreds of deer roam around freely and are used to getting fed by visitors. In fact, they are rather pushy about it, and I got butted a few times! Mom didn't want to feed them at first, but after a few minutes, she warmed up to it.

As we walked onward, we encountered a few monks. Some were visiting, and another was chanting, asking for money. Mom gave him some and got a blessing in return. When he saw I was taking his photo, he perked up and posed with her!

After walking through deer park, we arrived at the largest free-standing wooden building in the world. The temple is called Todai-ji, and it houses the largest bronze Buddha statue in the world, also known as Daibutsu or "Big Buddha." It was pretty dark inside, so some of the photos didn't come out that well. Outside the building, there was a statue of a healing god. You are supposed to rub the part of the statue that pains you, and then rub that part on yourself as well. All three of us took our turns, hoping to relieve whatever ailed us!

Up on a nearby hill is a five-story pagoda and temple known as Horyu-ji. It's very beautiful, but at this point, we were hungry and freezing from the wind, and decided to head back toward the train station.

Another 45-minute train ride later, we arrived in the hustle and bustle of Osaka. The bright lights everywhere are accompanied by fashion, which is just as popular with the men as the women. In fact, I think the guys spend more time tanning and blowdrying their hair than the girls do! After walking around a bit, we stopped at a pet shop/cafe where you can drink a cup of coffee while you pet the rescue dogs there. If you want you can also "rent" them by the hour and take them for a walk as well. We then met up with a few girls who work for a company that has helped find me students. They are really cute and fun, and they had a great time meeting my mom and Jacque.