Day 9 - Nara (Christmas Day!)

On Christmas morning, we slept in and had a late start off to Nara, which is just south of Kyoto. I think we left our hotel around 10:30am, and ended up walking through Kawaramachi and doing some shopping, then took the subway to Kyoto Station, and a limited express train to Nara. 

Since the walk to Todaiji Temple is about a mile and change, we made sure to fill up on provisions along the way... I think we had three snacks on the walk along the way!

First, we got strawberry daifuku mochi...

Then we got freshly made, still warm daifuku kinako-covered mochi filled with anko (sweetened black bean paste).

We also bought a few packages of the obligatory deer senbei crackers to feed our four-legged friends along the way. It never really gets old going to Nara and feeding the deer. It had been a few years since Ryan did it last...I think he was around 5 the first time, about 9-10 the second time? Since he only faintly remembered those times, we figured it was time to do it again.

This deer had a little crush on Ryan, or he suspected Ry had a hidden cache of senbei (he did not), as he kept following him. They were buddies, and yes...we brought him home. ;-)

Eventually, we got closer to the areas closer to Todaiji Temple (our destination). Again, we were uncertain Ryan remembered it from his last visit, so we wanted to go one more time. It's about $6 pp to go in, and I think I've paid that fee 20 times over the last twenty years...so I am hoping that I can get away with maybe only one more entry...when my nieces head there with us for the first time, someday. ;-) It's an amazing site, for sure...but you get to the point where it'd be nice to pass on future visits for awhile!

Our third snack on the way up was to get Coolish ice cream for Ryan (from a vending machine!)

 and a mango swirl ice cream for me.

Todaiji! This temple houses the massive sitting Buddha.

This photo does not depict the size of this massive bronzed Buddha well...but it is massive.

We gave Ryan the option of what he wanted to do that night for Christmas, and he selected ice skating (which was a bust, as it started to rain almost as soon as they stepped on the ice, which made it kind of miserable), followed by ramen from his favorite ramen shop.

His favorite ramen shop was coincidentally, only a stop or two away from the ice skating rink. It's a hole in the wall shop at a small station his cousins discovered years ago, and we love their freshly made noodles.

This was our Christmas Day...and a great one! No tree, no gifts...and not real original activities (more like familiar and comfortable activities for us), but plenty of fun. ;-)