Kyoto and NaraMeredith and I used the national holiday in Japan, named Vernal Equinox Day, to make a long weekend and visit Kyoto and Nara. It's pretty far from Aizu but a nice break from the usual places. It's a completely different aspect of Japanese culture to where we live and is quite popular among foreign tourists due to the large number of temples and other attractions.

I was pleased to go back to Kyoto after visiting last year with Simon, Mary and John, but I was especially happy to see Nara. It is a very relaxed city with a large park and many temples. Deer wander around the park freely as they are believed to be messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion.

The most impressive sight there is Todai-ji - a temple which is reputedly the largest wooden building in the world. It houses a great bronze Buddha statue.

By Sunday we were quite tired and drained of cash after riding the shinkansen followed by the local train back to Aizu for about 6 hours, but it was nice to get away somewhere different.