Day 4 Deers and Dolphins
What do deers and dolphins have in common? We saw both of them on this day of our trip which was in a way meant mostly for the children to catch some nature after days of city life.
In the morning we took the Kintetsu line near our place to head towards Nara. Another town on the outskirts of Osaka. Nara is actually the ancient capital city of Japan even before Kyoto and was meant to be the capital of Buddhism in the land thus is a prominent place to visit temples.
Our objective here though was for the deers which though are wild, are left to roam around the town freely. They are also very well fed by the tourist who buy the local deer biscuits off the vendors at ¥150 per pack so really they are rather semi domesticates. The stags have their antlers shaved off but this didn’t stop them from head butting us to get more food.
The children enjoyed the time with the deers so we left them with the grandparents while we checked out the area for other sightseeing. Nearby we went to visit the Todaji Temple which happened to be a UNESCO World Heritage site for being one of the largest wooden structure still standing in the world.
The walk to the temple is pleasant with deers grazing around at every turn and fiery red maple trees lining the streets. We didn’t pay to enter the premises but those who do can see the largest bronze Buddha statue in Japan within. I saw a replica at Kamakura 10 years ago when I came with my brother. Never imagined seeing it for myself now.
After Nara, we headed back to Osaka and tried to visit as many shops in Den Den Town as possible. We got to shop around Jungle, G One Capsule and Super Kids Land. We even bumped into one of our friends here. Sadly the selection in Osaka is really not as wide as I had hoped.
By the time we arrived at the Osaka Aquarium, it was close to 7pm and we were the last patrons to be admitted. Even though it was a bit embarrassing to be chased by the attendants who were trying to close off the exhibits as we left, I enjoyed this visit very much as there was literally no crowd and the sea creatures seemed at ease.
In particular, the dolphins were extremely playful, swimming and making jumps without a care in the world. I don’t think I would ever see animals in captive in such a natural state as this.
The next exhibit was the super large aquarium which houses a variety of sharks of which their star is the whale shark. The aquarium is designed to be the center pillar from which stretches three levels down so you can really see the whole thing 360 degrees. I am so glad we are the only ones here so we could relax and enjoy the view.
The third part of the aquarium which was the children’s favorite is the area where visitors can touch the stingray and baby sharks which have contrasting skin texture. Stingrays are slimy while sharks are rough.
And that about concludes our day with extremely aching feet and empty stomachs. We ate at a local restaurant called Ishiken near the aquarium serving yakitori and stingray fins. Boy was it one of the best dinner thus far.