Viva City and Nara

Its been a while since i posted I know but during the week there really isnt all that much to report on. Lots of studying which is burning me out a bit but we are about over with the "review" part of the class so they will probably slow things down a bit soon. anyways, we took a trip to minami Hikone where they have a giant mall-like plaza called Viva City. It was pretty cool and there was an arcade which, while not all that huge, had some amazing stuff in it. I especially like the gundam game that I couldn't play because you need to have a membership card with your character's stats and stuff on it. looked awesome. I did the taiko drumming game and mario cart. There is a movie theatre on top of the plaza along with a bowling alley and karaoke place. pretty fun stuff.

Then, this past saturday we spent most of the day in Nara. We visited Todaiji and Horyuji, two of the biggest and oldest temples in Japan. Todaiji especially was quite the experience. As soon as you enter you are assaulted by deer looking for a handout. They are not at all scared of humans and are actually really aggressive. As soon as they see you buy some cookies for them from one of the venders you are surrounded and they start nudging and biting you. It was really fun and I couldn't stop laughing the whole time. The main attraction of Todaiji is the Daibutsu, a massive bronze statue of the Buddha. Pictures simply can't capture the size but suffice it to say that it was an amazing sight. They have a pillar with a hole in it that is roughly the size of the Buddha's nostrils and people pass through it all the time as a joke. Horyuji had a plethora of buddhist art and statues so I was right at home. Unfortunately we were very rushed while at Horyuji and we didn't get to spend as much time there as I would have liked.

I have a ton of pictures, the best of which I will put up right after lunch tomorrow. I had planned on doing it tonight but I am getting tired already and there is a quiz in the morning. Sorry everyone.