After leaving the Todai-ji Temple area, we spent some time trying to parse the three different maps we had in order to find the Isuien garden. One map made it look like it was further into the park, one map made it look like it was next to the temple, and one map didn't even show it. It took some extra effort to be able to match up points of interest on each map enough to figure out which direction to go.
Luckily, we're pretty good with spatial reasoning, mom and I, because soon we found ourselves on a tiny road:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
And once we turned the corner, we saw the entrance to the Isuien Garden. We paid our fee, walked under a couple of trees, and came out to see this:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
Walking down a few steps, it looked a bit more like this:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
It was really a lovely setting, with several main areas to walk around in. Mom and I were snapping photos left and right, and just enjoying how peaceful and well-designed it was.
And now, on with the photos! (There's not really much more to say, except that the rest of the photos, of which there are many, are all posted here)
Here I am in the front part of the garden:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
This is for my mother-in-law, Norma, lover of dragon-flies:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
Moss-covered latern:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
Lily pads:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
Mom pauses as we head into the back area of the garden:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
The back part of the garden, using "borrowed" scenery of the large gate of Todai-ji, and the mountains in the distance:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
A hint of autumn:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
And finally, moss in the dappled sun:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
We really enjoyed wandering around the garden and none of the photos could really do it justice. It was a gorgeous day and a lovely setting, and we were very glad we found this place that was a bit out-of-the-way.
Once we were leaving the garden, we decided to head back to our hotel via the downtown area, so we could seek out some lunch. We happened upon the 5-story pagoda, so of course we had to stop there.
5-story pagoda:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
Then we walked a little further to see a pond, and a deer, walking down The 52 Steps:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
Looking back over the pond, the steps, and the pagoda:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
We happened upon a restaurant downtown that seemed to have some rice bowls of some sort, so we went in. It turned out that they had an english menu that didn't just let you order, it also explained some of the local dishes! What a find! Most of what we found in Japan was very little english, and what english there was wasn't very helpful. So, to find a description of the local dish and how to eat it was quite a treat!
I ended up ordering a tasty soup which also featured some kaki-no-hazushi on the side. This was pieces of sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves, which has the effect of preserving the fish. The soup was also super tasty! The dish at the top looks a bit like snot and has the texture, too, I'm not going to lie. However, it was pretty darn tasty. Though I couldn't bring myself to eat the whole thing because of the texture. But as I do in every place I travel... I tried it, and I was glad that I did!
Nara lunch:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
After lunch, we walked back to our hotel, via small streets like this one:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
And we couldn't help but admire the man-hole covers:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
And that was pretty much the end of Nara, because we returned to our hotel, picked up our stuff and were off to the train station to get to Osaka for our night-before-flying stay.
Oh, but can I just say, to all the American coffee shops that can't make a decent espresso drink, perhaps you should take lessons from Japan, because here's what we got IN THE TRAIN STATION coffee shop:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
And they tasted as good as they looked, too!
Once into Osaka, we got to our traditional hotel and settled into our room before meeting friends for dinner. It was a lovely space (even though the futons didn't end up being thick enough for us to get a good night's sleep). But the best part of Osaka was getting to see Hiro-san and Shizuko-san (friends of Mom's whom I had also spent a couple of Christmas Eve dinners with), and Dylan, a friend of mine that I haven't seen since we graduated college! After not knowing anyone the entire trip, catching up with friends was a wonderful way to cap off the visit!
Traditional hotel room:
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| From Nara - October 7, 2011 |
And so our time in Japan was complete. We flew out of Osaka the next morning and made it back to Shanghai safely and uneventfully. While we chose to relax a bit on our Saturday return, stayed tuned for tales of Yu Yuan Gardens in Shanghai in our next adventure!
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