day 7, nara half-day and shopping half-day in osaka

the last day in kansai area....and the last city to visit- nara.
this city is said to be older than kyoto but i think kyoto has more things to offer.

we only spent half a day in nara, at nara park area only. there are not that many places to visit in nara if you google. i was curious about yoshino mountain in nara prefecture. but when i went to ask at nara station how long it would take to reach the mountain, the answer i got was 90 mins. gosh.....too far. i had to think about the return trip as well. so it was just nara park for us.

took a bus all the way to the last stop in nara park and made our way down hill.
i was on a limited budget since i had almost used up all my yen. so entry into paid area of shrines and temples was a no-no. most of the temples and shrines in japan have paid and open area.
so we only took photos at areas where we are allowed to roam.

entrance to kasuga-taisha, kasuga grand shrine.

the shrine area.....but go in, there is the paid area.

a lot of deer roam this park and they are considered national treasures. they are said to be wild, but again, i beg to differ. close interaction with human have made them all so tame. they would follow visitors around and if you have food, you would be like the pipe piper. you can buy snacks for them at 150. i saw a blind deer....how sad. are those snacks healthy for them? shouldn't they be eating something organic and green???

see, the deer won't go anywhere even if you get near them. they will just sit there and do their own business and when they are hungry, they will just get close to human. and you call this wild?
oh, deer are considered messengers of gods in shinto.
so you better feed them to make sure gods hear your wishes?

entrance to todaiji temple.

this is the closest i could get to todaiji temple. how sad. it was 500 yen to enter todaiji.

this buidling here is todaiji. it is such an imposing building and inside is seated a big buddha. of all the temple buildings that i had seen in this trip, this is my favourite. gosh, now i have regret not paying that 500 yen. huhuhuhu.

kofukuji consisting of the eastern golden hall and a wooden five-storey pagoda.

after checking out these places in nara park, we decided to head back to osaka for lunch and to do last minute shopping. yes, i had an item on my shopping list which was added when i realised how much cheaper it was here than to get it in australia.

lunch was on the top floor of isetan department store....belgium/german food with japanese beer.

sausages, fries and fried chicken pieces.

10 vege salad. i din count.

stew pork in beer. the pork was really tender. slurp.

stir fried noodle....too salty.

so we went to three department stores around osaka station- isetan, daimaru and hankyu......well because i couldn't find the item i wanted!!! i only managed to find it in hankyu, the last hope.

but before that...i also got these:

a stapler....ya....of all things. it has a slot for you to put all your staples on standby so you can always have them when you run out. very convenient. and a hello kitty mechanical pencil ;)

japanese really put a lot of effort in their presentation and packaging. just tell them you are buying something for a gift, and they will do all the wrapping for you. how cute. gosh, i feel so guilty now, i am not planning to bring that paper bag home. haha....okok...i will see if i can fit it in the bag tomorrow so i won't fill bad.

yup, i only got myself a bow hair clip. aiyoh.....so nice leh......very kawaii and a gracious clip. lol

and finally, the big item in the list:

a nespresso u machine!!! woohoooo.......!! how am i going to carry this? my friend will do it for me....hand carry. the one that i selected is in grey.

and it comes with a milk frother....i chose red. and they gave me 30 free capsules on top of the 19 already in the box. so i have enough coffee for one month!!!

this machine is not available in malaysia yet. had a try when i went to my sis place in aussie. singapore already has it but i doubt if their price will be cheaper than what i paid. even australia is more expensive. hahah....really happy with this purchase. got it at hankyu where they give 5% discount on the item on top of the 4% tax exemption i got back. really worth it.

will order the capsules from the website when i got home.

and finally....my dinner:

how poor already hahaha.....my only instant noodle here since i came to japan. i am not really a fan, but i had no choice tonight. i still owe ppl few hundred yen i think.....hmmmhh.....luckily my transport to the airport is settled.

so tomorrow, again leaving at 7.30a.m to the airport.....and then.....can shop again. haha....i haven't found the chocolate my cousin asked me to get.

night night