After Kyoto we took a train to Nara. We noticed on the train that we were only ever the ones with a coffee in our hands on the train, even on early mornings. We weren’t sure if it was bad etiquette or not but we continued to bring them on anyway. Once arrived we then checked into Haruya Hostel, the same chain as the one we stayed in Kyoto. Just as before, it had a nice authentic feel to it, it was quiet and tranquil, the ceilings were small (not the best for me!), and we slept on futons on the floor.
After some lunch we then made our way to Nara Park, the main attraction to Nara. Nara Park hosts hundreds of wild deer, all roaming around freely. You can even buy food for the deer at street vendors, and after learning not to frantically give them the food quickly, they will actually bow to you for the food. They can be quite friendly, but you have to show them you don’t have any food left afterwards otherwise they can go for your jeans! We spent the rest of the daytime walking around Nara Park chuckling at people being chased by the deers, and then spent some time chilling in our hostel.
For the nighttime, I had researched online that we would be there during Omizutori, which is an event lasting two weeks in March, every evening at 7pm. We were unsure of how busy it would be, but we wandered back to Nara Park and to Nigatsudo Hall , where we were amongst thousands of people waiting. It almost felt like we were at a British bonfire evening, or the town Christmas lights about to be turned on. Once it hit 7pm a gong started to be hit, then not long a man carrying a huge torch with burning would walk down the side of the crowd and up to the top of the hall, to the balcony. He would then continue to hold it out above the front of the crowd, and wave this torch so the embers trickled down. It is said that if you are touched with these embers that you will be given luck for the rest of your year, although we were at the back due to the amount of people. This is done until the torch goes out, then the process repeats with another torch. Depending on what day you go within the two weeks, the number of torch’s and true sizes differ. We watched for about twenty minutes until it finished. I was glad we were able to see this, as it seemed like a unique event to witness.
Lee Teivans Travel Blog 