Senn, Senn, Sen-tokun

Remember what I said about maps in Japan? Address are just as crazy sometimes.

After an interesting and decent by weather standards night in Kyoto, we had to emigrate temporarily south back to Osaka for a night. But I'll get to that. First, critters and crackers and inari, oh my!

Come morning, we came up with a rather clever game plan. Well, I'll be fair and credit my mother. She suggested we just take what we needed for the day and night with us to Osaka and leave everything else in lockers at the subway. The woman is brilliant, people. Instead of lugging around our luggage (aptly named, no? Do you think there was some sadistic foresight that went into that name?) we shoved everything, including the omiyage cookies I bought for teachers, into a couple lockers and we were suddenly, blissfully free!

Our main objective for the day was the great temple city of Nara! But first, I wanted to make a stop at the famous inari shrine: a winding trail of short orange torii gates meandering up a forested hill. Yeah, that one. I felt bad about hijacking part of the day, so I assured my parents the shrine was on the way, it was going to be beautiful and it was, most importantly, right next to the station.

I don't think Inari let any of us down. It was cloudy and humid, promising rain, but still the shrine was very busy. We had our picture taken by an enthusiastic fellow tourist, and then we continued with our own shutter-bugging.

Here's the simple breakdown: Inari is the god of harvest, primarily rice. Japan being one of the biggest producers of rice, have a lot of stock in a happy and generous Inari. The god is symbolized by the white fox, and they are everywhere at the temple. In statue form, unfortunately, but they're still very impressive.

Every fox either carried a sheaf of rice or an energy ball. The temple complex itself is beautiful and sprawling. It goes far up the hill and deep into the trees, but the most popular and visually stunning is the torii gate trail.

Summer being the big tourist season for most Japanese cities, it's hard to get a scenic picture without a cameo. Rather than making yourself a nuisance by holding up traffic, sometimes you have to get creative. Or you just deal with it and let it become a part of your experience. You're not alone at this landmark, why should it look like it?

After Inari, we were off to Nara. What, temples again? you say. You know nothing, John Snow. Nara is home to some of the most spectacular and awesome (in its purest sense of the word) temples and Buddhas, but also the deer!

Messengers on break

Deer, especially white ones, are messengers of the gods. And deer have been around Nara for a few centuries, so they are given a lot of license in the town. They wander freely in the streets and parks and around temples. Sometimes they walk right into open air cafes and restaurants looking for freebies.

Not like they're going hungry. During the summer, if you buy a stack of crackers from one of the dozens of local vendors, you'll never be rid of the adorable little pests.

But be warned: deer are smarter than people give them credit. They know what crowds mean (food) and what children mean (easy food). Some have even learned tricks to get more food like "bowing."

Some, however, would rather look for shortcuts rather than learn a trick and instead, resort to violence. Signs posted around Nara warn tourists of deer violence that read like a woman's self-defense class: Push, Kick, Butt, Bite.

I got to experience Butt and Bite.

Deer swarm!

So Nara, like I said, is a huge temple complex. Right now, a few of the temples are being restored, but the vast majority are still in their unbelievable prime. Our first temple introduced us to the 12 demi-god generals that act as warriors for the Buddha. They're terrifying to look at, but that's the point, isn't it? I wouldn't want some baby-faced cherub as my general. I'd want someone with a basilisk face like these generals!

Wait for it....

For me, the most amazing part of Nara was Todaiji. As you approach the "Giant Temple" ie (one of?) the largest wooden structures in Japan, you can't see the temple itself. You walk between two columns of food stands, weaving between people and deer and cross a bridge. You find yourself in front of a high, long wall. To get in, you have to go left and wind around a corner and buy your ticket. Walking down the stone and wood hall, you see the left side opens into the temple grounds.

But it's not until you walk a few more steps and pass a few bushes when Todaiji reveals itself. Audible gasp! It's immense! It towers over everyone and everything and it's just beautiful. Inside is a Buddha that takes up most of the space, whose head brushes the ceiling. There are some more imposing generals standing guard, too.

After more deer-feeding and temple gazing, we hit the tracks for Osaka.

And here's where my map-point comes in. Our hotel for the night listed "Osaka Castle" in it's address. Looking it up on my phone, I thought I found the right place, and the website seemed to place it within a few blocks of Osaka Station.

Ha ha ha nope! The hotel was about 30 minutes or more by train northeast on the outskirts way out in the Osaka boonies. After getting off the train, we weren't even sure what direction to head for the hotel. We found a map, but after a few confusing minutes, we realized the map was "upside down!" If we'd gone in the direction I thought we were supposed to take, we'd be on the other side of a river and heading farther north!

We finally found our hotel, cleaned up, breathed a few therapeutic breaths and went staggering into the night in search of food. Okonomiyaki saved the night. Thankfully, we were heading back for "familiar" territory in Kyoto the next day, so we were tired, a little flustered, but fed and happy.

Is there any better way to be?