Kasuga Taisha: A Grand Shrine

The last place we visited in Nara was Kasuga Taisha. The Fujiwara family established this Shinto grand shrine in 768. I'm growing rather fond of those Fujiwaras.  Strolling around the grounds of Kasuga Taisha was the highlight of my day.

The approach to the shrine is long and lovely. The path rolls slowly upward through heavily wooded grounds peppered with ancient stone lanterns. I read somewhere that there are 3,000 bronze and stone lanterns here and that they look quite spectacular the two times each year when they are all lit.  Maybe we can return in early February or mid-August for that experience.

Ambling up the path, we passed several dozen children stepping, standing, and sliding in unison. Each child was holding a wooden sword or pike except a boy in the very front who was carrying a bundle of arrows. A man barked out orders and several other adults on the sidelines seemed to be coaching the children.

Alas, although I mastered the routine by the third iteration, no one invited me to join the formation.  I was hoping to get to carry the arrows.

Some of the bronze lanterns reminded me of the lanterns in my childhood church, but I think we just called them light fixtures, as in, "Kathy, stop staring at the light fixtures and get back to your rosary." Anyway, they made me feel a little homesick and maybe that's why Kasuga Taisha was the highlight of my day. Homesick is not a bad feeling in my world.

And then there were the five men glued to the steps smack dab in front of the main shrine building while I waited patiently and then not so patiently to line up my shot. Egad, it's my brothers and my brother-in-law planning a golf outing or beer run.

Here's a shot of some of the stone lanterns I mentioned. I have about 150 similar pictures but this is the only one that isn't blurry. Real and imaginary deer sightings turned me a bit flinchy.

Mr. Keeper exits the quaint circa 768 restroom and declares it is time to head back to Osaka to sample the local cuisine, Okonomiyaki. Regrettably, my camera battery went into a coma before we reached the restaurant and Mr. Keeper left his in our hotel room. You'll just have to imagine us seated at a counter watching in amazement as the cook concocted and monitored nine different varieties of what looked like omelets on the grill in front of us.

Someone a few seats down from us ordered yakisoba, a noodle dish which the cook deposited sans plate directly on the heated section of counter in front of the customer. There is no way on earth I could have maneuvered those slippery noodles off the stainless steel countertop and into my mouth with a fork let alone a pair of chopsticks!