WHS#79

After Kyoto, Nara is definitely the next most important historic city to visit in Japan. Even though it was capital of Japan for far less time, the monuments in Nara are no less impressive. While Ancient Kyoto wins in quantity and diversity of architectural and landscaping styles, Ancient Nara wins in the cohesiveness of its monuments, mostly concentrated in specific areas, most notably Nara Park. It's also home to, in my opinion, the single most impressive temple building in Japan, Todaiji's Daibutsuden. I was able to visit all 4 temples and shrines in and around Nara Park, these being Kasuga Taisha, Todaiji, Kofukuji, and Gangoji on a day trip from Osaka in December 2019. I arrived in JR Nara Station, as I had just come from Horyuji before going to Nara, and from there I took a loop bus to Nara Park.

The normal loop bus doesn't stop at Kasuga Taisha Shrine, but instead drops you almost a kilometer away to walk a forested path through Nara Park towards the shrine. There is a bus from the JR station directly to the shrine, but I believe it's less frequent than the loop bus, and I prefer walking over waiting. Anyway, wherever you get down will most definitely lead to an interaction with the (in)famous deer of Nara. I even saw one steal a plastic bag of donuts from some careless tourists. Nevertheless, they're a great touch to photos, as they seem to have a tendency to pose nice and still for pictures. The path to the shrine is lined with stone lanterns, which is in a way a precursor to its lantern-filled interior. It seems that to walk among the lanterns, you have to pay a fee, but I was satisfied with being able to see the paid area from outside. The shrine buildings were beautiful, as expected, but not too different from Itsukushima and Senjokaku in Miyajima. It's not at all the most impressive stuff to see in Nara.

Next, I walked to Todaiji. The deer here are even more aggressive, and the tourists with food more numerous. But none of these can distract from the magnificence of Todaiji. Each structure, starting with the Nandaimon that serves as the entrance to the temple grounds, is more impressive than the last until you reach Daibutsuden. This great hall called to mind the sheer scale of Karnak Temple in Egypt; this is a wonder on it's own. It could easily be a WHS on it's own. It's astonishing how wood can support so much weight. Even the Buddha inside is so big, it'd be a big tourist attraction without the building around it. Sadly, the building has had to be reconstructed, but since the last time was in the 18th century, I can't say I'm disappointed in this historic monument. It's got a lot of interesting little details too, little embellishments that make the building not just imposing, but graceful as well. There are more buildings in the complex, but with 2 more temples to visit and some family members with aching feet, I had to go on without seeing them.

The next most famous temple in Nara is definitely Kofukuji, and it's right at the edge of Nara Park. There are even temples in Kyoto whose names are mashed up versions of Kofukuji and Todaiji (Tofukuji and Kodaiji), testifying to the influence these 2 temples of Nara have had on the rest of the nation. Kofukuji was the family temple of the Fujiwara clan, and it's got a diverse set of structures, including golden halls, octagonal halls, and pagodas. You can pay to enter the golden halls, but I opted out due to them being recent reconstructions, but I found both the 5-story and 3-story pagoda impressive in height and beauty. The octagonal halls as well are authentic historic constructions, and they reminded me of the original octagonal hall in Horyuji that I had seen earlier that day. Like Frederik below, I loved the view of Kofukuji and the mountains from Sarusawa pond. The pond is in just the right spot for the most scenic panoramic view in Nara, and the water has quite a magical mirror quality to it too.

Lastly, I checked out Gangoji. Walking through Naramachi, I expected it to be a bustling commercial district with beautiful historic buildings, but I ended up finding myself in a residential area. I found later that I had taken the wrong road to Gangoji, but luckily, I found the temple right before closing time. December days end fast, I'll tell you that! Gangoji was a huge contrast to the other monuments I had seen in Nara, as it's really small and simple. It's not an impressive structure, inside or out, but there's a charm to the simplicity. The interior has some interesting Buddhist artwork. Outside is the main attraction, though: a densely packed ancient graveyard. The tombstones all had interesting shapes and designs, and they contrasted well with the old white-and-brown wooden temple behind them. Gangoji isn't a must-see in Nara, but I enjoyed the short visit. Aside from its age and the tombstones, I don't think the temple could justify OUV on it's own, though.

I have to say, I wasn't 100% sold with Nara the way I was with Kyoto or Koyasan. I find some inconsistencies with some of the serial sites a bit strange. Like, how historically authentic are Kasuga Taisha and Kofukuji's golden halls? How is Gangoji deserving of WHS status? Well, the UNESCO page talks about how these monuments bring back the golden days of Nara as the capital of Ancient Japan. While I don't exactly feel brought back to that point, I ultimately feel that Nara is just a good ensemble of historic monuments that complement each other, and each component has something different to offer. Perhaps I'll need to see the other serial components of the site to get a full picture, but I think all one has to understand in Nara is that this is an amazing city that has a long story to it. And without overthinking the little details, Ancient Nara is definitely a very impressive WHS to visit.