"Democracy consists of choosing your dictators, after they've told you what you think it is you want to hear." - Alan Corenk

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Japan trip
Day 8 - 13th June - Horyu-ji (Part 1)

I took a train to Nara, but first I went to Horyu-ji nearby. There was supposed to be a bus from the train station, but it was too early so I walked. It was very walkable with the many signposts and especially with shade, natural or otherwise (my umbrella).


Roadside shrine around holy tree


Road leading to Horyu-ji. Presumably the 2 lanterns mean something.


Avenue leading to complex

There was a visitors' centre.


World Heritage Certificate


Helpful map of the area showing the location of a DIY Shop, Convenience Store, Mos Burger, McDonalds and more. This might seem silly but actually is very useful - a McDonalds is very visible.

A lot of Jap schoolgirls carry briefcases around.

After repeated observation and careful consideration mindful of heuristics, I confirmed my evaluation that schoolgirls were seen more often than schoolboys. One reason why might be that the boys cycle and use backlanes.


Entrance to building complex


Horyu-ji plaque

Of course, there was the inevitable:


"Notice: The Horyuji Kondo (Main Hall), a designated National Treasure, is undergoing a series of preservation-related repairs that are scheduled to last from February until December 2008"
Renovation notice. I wasn't exaggerating when I said half of Japan was under renovation.




No entry


Me


Doorway


Garden


Roof



Photographic rules were very silly in the ticketed area. Not only was photography not allowed (of the interiors - though this wasn't stated everywhere, making me think it was a blanket ban), sketching was banned too; this is the first place I've seen with such a ridiculous rule. Maybe someone will burn this complex to the ground, like Kinkakuji.


Five-Storeyed Pagoda. This is the oldest wooden building in the world (end of 7th century)


Main Hall (IIRC)



You could donate a tile to the temple roof. Apparently many people misunderstood, as there was a sign: "The tile is not a souvenir to bring home". Hah.


Do the schoolkid hordes never end?!


Kaminomido


World Heritage certificate. I've never seen one before. They must be very proud of it.


Main Hall. Now I realised the true purpose of the curtains - it was to prevent people from taking pictures!

The icons and statues weren't as nice as at Chion-Ji or Narai-ji, but the architecture at Horyu-ji was great.




Kondo


Detail of Dragon wrapped around pillar, Kondo


Shoryoin




Garden

They had a treasure hall (fire and earthquake proof!), inside of which photography was naturally forbidden.


"博院落". Daihozoin, Part of treasure hall. Yes I know the Kanji is wrong. Too bad, who asked them to use script so cursive I can't recognise the character?!

They had Indra, Brahma and friends looking East Asian. I guess the Gods can change their forms at will.

The treasure hall also had a lot of wooden stuff, some going back to the 7th century (the wonderful thing about Japan: you never need to specify BC or AD!) There were also odds and ends: masks and silk paintings; things which you don't find in the Tokyo National Museum.

Some of Japan's "Important Cultural Properties" came from Tang China. Hoho. (Here's another one that came from Korea)

There was a refeshments area. A vending machine had Nestle's 'Melon Milk (Hot)'. Uhh... (Actually it appears on Pokka Singapore's website, but I've never seen it here). There was also Framboise Latte, whih sounded scary.


Yumedono (Hall of Dreams)

I saw a group of Korean kids with nametags ('Team: Grace', 'Team: Hope'). Maybe they were at Horyu-ji to defile it.


Garden


I doubt you can find better examples of how the Japs put rice plots everywhere. Here, you see a rice plot in Horyuji beside a road and next to... a parking lot, and another next to a house. Well done.

I came across another takoyaki place, which was much cheaper (8 for Y240) than the previous day (Y400 for 8 also IIRC). Furthermore, they were making them fresh. However, they didn't understand the concept of "bulk discount" - no matter how many takoyakis you bought, from 8-52, the price per ball was the same.


Screwed up packaging. There wasn't much bonito but there was ginger.

I wouldn't stayed in the Horyu-ji area longer (there're some other nice temples nearby) but I still had Nara to do!