I went to Nara, and we visited Hōryū-ji. I was so excited to visit, as Hōryū-ji is so old- the world's oldest wooden structure, I believe- and pretty iconic.
I thought it would be packed with tourists but it was surprisingly quiet. This was probably because Hōryū-ji isn't actually in Nara proper, but is a short train ride away. Anyway, it's a lovely place to visit and I'd say it's a must-see if you're in the Nara area.
How to get to Hōryū-ji:
Hōryū-ji has its' own stop on the JR Nara line, which you can take from Nara or from Tennouji in Osaka. From JR Nara station, you can get a bus there or walk.
Hōryū-ji was the most expensive temple I've been to in Japan, at 1500 yen, but I think it was still worth it. The 1500 yen gets you into a museum and another temple complex as well. The museum features a lot about Shotoku Taishi, the historic prince who helped spread Buddhism through Japan and founded Hōryū-ji.
There was a Kofun (an ancient Japanese burial mound) nearby too, I'll have to visit next time.
We then went to Nara itself, (a few more stops on the JR line) and walked through the park (and saw all the deer) and passed Kofukuji temple. We didn't pay to go in, and one of the buildngs was covered up for reconstruction, but it was still pretty impressive. The pagoda at Kofukuji is actually the second tallest in Japan.
At the end, we had planned to go to Tōdai-ji, but it was closed, and then the beautiful weather from earlier on abruptly turned to heavy rain, (just my luck eh?) so we headed home. We were back in Nara a few days later though, so stay tuned for a post on that.
Thanks for reading~
-Amy xoxo
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