Featuring: AC in Nara

'Of all sad words of mouth or pen, the saddest are these: it might have been.'

It was a sunny and breezy day. After leaving my suitcase in the coin locker of the Kintetsu station, I was ready for Nara. Strolling leisurely from the station, I stumbled upon the gravel path to Kōfuku Temple (興福寺, Kōfuku-ji). It has already been there for 1300 years from the Nara Era, when Nara was the capital of Japan before Kyoto.

Something caught my attention when I walked past the pagoda. It was a stall selling deer crackers, with three deers  hovering around, waiting for tourists to swing by.

As I left the temple, a lovely green pasture came into sight. It’s Nara Park, home to hundreds of deers. After witnessing a deer nibbling on a passerby's scarf when it didn't get enough crackers to feel full, I decided to brave the consequences and went ahead with two packets of crackers.

At first, I was panicking slightly. What if a stampede of deers came after me for my crackers? I was relieved when I found out that was not the case in springtime. Most of the deers have enough grass to eat, so they won’t be too hungry. Instead of running around for deer crackers, they preferred resting under the sun and rolling around on the grass. This is what I call quality of life.

Sagi-ike and Ukimidō Pavilion (浮見堂)

I headed to the Sagi-ike (鷺池, Heron Pond) shortly after. Lined by Sakura trees, this place became a paradise for couples as they were taking wedding photos, canoeing and walking hand in hand. For solo travellers like me, I thought it best to take a quick photo and dash. I was not jealous at all.

Wakakusa-yama

Although I knew the Kasuga-Taisha Shrine (春日大社) and the Tōdaiji Temple (東大寺) were beloved world heritages, I could only walk past them as I was running out of time! Maybe I will return in autumn when those deers would go wild, chasing after people for crackers at 60 kph (I will have to train to be twice as fast as Bolt).

I passed by Wakakusa Hill (若草山, Wakayama-yama) where deer cracker frisbee games were held. I have to say, the deer living around the Kasuga-Taisha shrine were much shyer than those in Nara Park, but I enjoyed spending time with them even more because they were  more tourist-friendly and elegant.

Saho-gawa

When I was planning my trip, I read from the official website for tourists that Saho River (佐保川, Saho-gawa) was one of the recommended sites for Sakura viewing. True to their recommendations, nothing could have been more spectacular than having a thousand Sakura trees in full bloom lining the river for about 5 kilometres. This place was a Hanami (花見, flower viewing) spot exclusively for the locals. Some of them were sitting under a tree drinking green tea, whilst others were lying on the river bank watching the world go by.

I was too tired to walk back to Nara, so I took the Kintetsu train at Shin-ōmiya (新大宮) station. After taking a short nap on the train, I walked through the modern Shōtengai (商店街, Street lined by shops) to Naramachi (ならまち, literally translated as: the town of Nara). At first glance, it was just an ordinary town with rows of old-fashion wooden houses. However, as I made my way along the street, I could hear this town telling me its story of how it flourished a thousand years ago as a business hub. When I was visiting a typical grid house (ならまち格子の家, Naramachi-Koshi-no-ie) for merchandise in ancient Nara, I could imagine the hustle and bustle of this once-vibrant town. At the end, I visited the Nara Craft Museum and watched an exhibition of pressed flower craft. Although pressed flowers lose its fragrance, its colour still remains, ever evolving with time.

Kōriyama Castle. As night fell, the surrounding lighting painted a shade of green on the white cherry blossoms (Somei-yoshino)

The itinerary was so packed that I left myself little to no time to eat after breakfast. Instead of having supper after checking in the hostel, I decided to set off to Kōriyama Castle (郡山城跡, Kōriyama Jōseki). Normally in Nara, tourists would return to their accommodation soon after sunset, but during the Sakura season, there are many scenic locations where one can view cherry blossoms lit up by the nightlights (夜桜, Yozakura). The sky was pitch black by the time I arrived at Kōriyama, but the Yatai (屋台, mobile food stall) along the slope to the castle was still crowded with Sakura viewers. Thank God for food stalls! I was finally able to appease my grumbling stomach and bought three Taiyakis, a cup of Kara-age (唐揚げ, fried chicken) and an Okonomiyaki. As I was strolling along the outskirts of the castle, I was revelling in the serenity and mystery that the cherry blossom at night displayed. This was by far the highlight of my journey, the picture will be etched in my memory for a very long time.

Yoshiyo-yama is situated at the southern part of Nara prefecture. Around April, tourists flock from all over Japan to catch a glimpse of the Yama-zakura (山桜, mountain Sakura) as they populate the entire mountain, painting the town pink (一目千本, Ichimoku-senbon). There was a hiking trail of 8 kilometres long, which was divided into Shimo-senbon (下千本, Lower Yoshino), Naka-senbon (中千本, Middle Yoshino), Kami-senbon (上千本, Upper Yoshino) and Oku-senbon (奥千本, Inner Yoshino). Every year, the blossoms of the Sakura trees would burst  in succession from the former to the latter throughout April.

Kami-senbon, Yoshino-yama.

On another glorious Saturday, I took the Kintetsu from Osaka to Yoshino and decided to walk all the way up to the peak via the Nana-magari-zaka (七曲り坂, Slope with seven curves). For those who want to visit Yoshino-yama, I would highly recommend buying a bentō in the morning because there are no restaurants above Naka-senbon. After what seemed like an endless hike, I arrived at the Kami-senbon region where cherry blossoms had just started to fall. As the mountain breeze blew, the Sakura petals fluttered down like snowflakes. Before I could take a shot of this magical moment, I was overwhelmed by the blizzard of cherry blossoms (桜吹雪, Sakura-fubuki) as the Sakura petals covered my face and the camera.

Yoshino-mikumari Shrine, Kamisenbon, Yoshino-yama

A food stall selling grilled Ayu (鮎, sweetfish) and Kakinoha Sushi (柿の葉寿司, sushi wrapped in persimon leaf) naturally attracted me, and my eagle eyes caught a straight road leading to a rustic shrine called Yoshino-mikumari Shrine (吉野水分神社, Yoshino-mikumari Jinja, a shrine protecting children) and had a little wander around.

Oku-senbon-guchi (entrance to inner Yoshino)

At long last, lunch time! Utterly exhausted, I took a rest at the Mount Takagi observation deck (高城山展望台, Takagi-yama-Tenbōdai), enjoying Sakura-mochi exclusively available in this season. After another ten minutes of bludgeoning my poor feet, I was in front of this ancient Torii adorned with Yama-zakura, which was the entrance to Oku-senbon. As I walked up the slope, I became more and more excited because I knew something wonderful was waiting ahead of me.

The bird’s eye view of the Kii Peninsula was breathtaking. After a very messy trek in the mud and countless slips (I nearly fell into the valley), I finally got to see this magnificent scenery where hundreds of Yama-zakura was blossoming on a steep slope. In contrast with Somei-yoshino, which was an artificial breed originating in the Edo period, Yama-zakura long existed in the nature. Its resilience to extreme weather, its noble appearance and its faint scent made it so special and was greatly loved by Japanese poets. Legendary Haiku poet Bashō Matsuo (松尾芭蕉) was deeply attracted to this place. During a rainy Autumn when Bashō visited the hermitage of Saigyō (西行庵, Saigyō-an), he drank from a clear stream running through moss-covered rocks (苔清水) and wrote this following poem:

露とくとく(Tsuyu-tokutoku – The gurgling dewdrops)

心みに浮世(Kokoromini-Ukiyo – the secularism in my mind and body)

すすがばや(Susugabaya – May it cleanse)

There I learnt how the tranquility of nature allowed people to explore what’s deep down in their hearts.

AC