hey everyone and welcome to Nara! you
might have heard of this place on social media it's pretty famous for its bowing deer, oh,
that's not all we're gonna see though. it's also pretty famous for its temples. it's Japan's
original capital. so it has a really high concentration of temples and stuff. we got in last night
to a pretty cool Airbnb. it's two bedrooms. has a washer dryer. it's just like a legitimate
Japanese house and it's a really interesting vibe and the best part, it came with bicycles!
so we're gonna take our bikes around Nara to start our day we got our coffee from FamilyMart. highly recommend it for anyone. and we got this great view of the lake. this is sarusawa Park Pond which is a wonderful beautiful Pond they have at the edge of the city just
before you get into Nara park. It has a great reflection of the five-story Pagoda. it's so
pretty! we're gonna check out this whole Shrine complex in a little bit, but also right by
this pond are some deer that hang out right around here so this mochi shop you may have seen in some
of those viral videos of those guys who are like pounding Mochi. like using their hands
between the malleting. they're not working right now. but we're gonna try out some of the Mochi they make. oh, you got two!
look at those they look so good so they're supposed to be covered in roasted
soybean flour. the Mochi itself which is pounded glutinous rice is mugwort flavored and then
they're filled with red beans sorry, mugwort? mugwort. mugwort. they're kinda like... beans. like beans? yeah because the red beans. do you like it? I'm not sure it's my thing I could see how maybe it could grow on you if you grew up with it, but it's really weird this sort of tastes like you know like
a bean and cheese burrito or something. I like it. I'll eat yours. there you go. hey! I see what you mean about a bean and cheese
burrito. I like it because I love bean and cheese burritos. I love the texture. I feel
like you guys must share like the same taster genes because I don't taste bean and cheese
burrito at all just made it to Nara Park this is
the best place to see the deer and around the park they're supposed to sell these rice
crackers that you feed them so we're gonna go look for that first can I get three? thank you! those are 200 yen per stack? 200 yeah! they
smell pretty good. you should try a piece. I'm kidding you probably shouldn't... okay okay. it's
not bad. it's just wheat it kind of tastes like a dog treat or Wheaties like they're
not terrible that they're like unsalted unsweetened well that's probably good for the deer. I mean they're great like oh my god! oh my god! they actually do it!! I got it. Oh that's awesome! oh my gosh. you're overdoing it
a little bit now. he's just so hungry it's run Alan, run! woah this is up close and personal! the bathrooms have gates on them to keep the deer out. That's a nice touch! Nara is also a great place to see old Japanese buildings
look at this street. I know, look at that architecture. it's amazing is this it? I think so. this place is
called Wakakusa Curry I got the hashed wagyu Curry which sounds
very high-end it is supposed to be mushroom and onion curry with wagyu of course. it's interesting
it's very tangy and tomato based it's just not at all what I was expecting. I got the
four curry special. It came with a spinach curry chicken curry, a lamb curry, I think this was
a beef curry whoa! that one is delicious. and it's like, uh,
really strong with clove though. so it almost tastes like Christmas. my favorite I think
is the lamb Curry. that is excellent. so what did you order? the katsu, which is pork cutlet and crispy shrimp. crispy and so tender, nice flavor in the curry very good. that Curry was delicious!
you could tell they used really fresh ingredients fresh spices, stuff like that. but now we're
in the... what's the name of this spot again? Mochiidono shopping street. Mochiidono shopping
street. got it. so we're gonna explore that for a little bit. and you'll notice there are a
lot of deer themed items. so you can take them home as souvenirs. I just think it's really
cute. all over Japan we've noticed different storm drain covers and this one has little
deer on it! here they're roasting green tea, it smells
so good. oh, they are! wow that does smell really good actually! yeah it smells awesome! we collect magnets everywhere we go. I've never
seen one like this a little Nara Lantern. I think that's really cute. so I think I'm gonna
get this one. how nice of him he's gonna wrap it! you want this? okay yes. is that what you want?
oh we found this place that serves deer ice cream. well deer themed ice cream. it's not
made out of deer milk. thanks for clarifying! I needed to! so cute! so kawaii! what'd you get? I got chocolate vanilla swirl with antlers. are they rice crackers? I don't know what they are but we'll find
out won't we? whatever it is that like McDonald's ice cream cones are made out of. so it's like
cone? yeah it's like cone but. mhm. I got a condensed milk and strawberry bit ice cream. It has a little
deer cookie on top and these little puffy rice balls. what's it taste like? I like this
one that is actually really delicious. yeah. for 900 yen
not a bad treat. very cute the cookie reminds me of something. try it. I can't place
what. like maybe those Christmas cookie boxes? you know what I mean? those like tins you get at Christmas time?
yeah yeah maybe. like your neighbor that doesn't really know you that well buys you a Christmas gift exploring Nara one of the first things you'll come across is the kofukuji
temple complex, which is about 1200 years old. it was built by the fujiwara family which
is a most powerful aristocratic family ever in Japanese history. it has burned down a bunch
of times. so only a few of the buildings actually remain. although as I understand it most of
them have been rebuilt a few times over the years. like over there there's a pagoda. that
one's been burned down five times and I guess it's in such bad condition they're about to
actually do some major restoration work and this is the last time you can see it for about
the next 10 years! so, they said they're tearing it down this January and they're
going to rebuild it ten years from now. 10 Years it'll be done. interestingly too that's
the second tallest Pagoda in all of Japan oh I know we've run into so many super
helpful, super informative volunteers here so really appreciate that little bit of the
temple. I think Alan's mom is with one right now. They gave us a bunch of info. and they also told us about a cultural center that's here with a few different activities so we're going
to check that out okay it seems like the visitor center. so those
are the stairs you come down on the temple complex but the restaurant with the lake right
behind it and The Visitor Center is up here so they have origami, calligraphy, and cosplay and then put your finger inside and then straight
down straight down straight down that way I don't understand how you guys like
didn't cut that through though. punch. okay yeah that's right very hard and Alan's mom wants to also dress and kimono
which they offer, so we're gonna go do that real quick I like this, it's cute. these are really hard
to walk in. I literally don't know how people walk in these all day I'm like slipping all
over the place the dress-up it was very fun and they definitely
encouraged it. they were like come dress up! and they have other little outfits too. they
have a little sumo suits, we saw somebody doing ninja which was kind of cool. and they took
a picture of us for some government website is that what they said? something like that.
or here. something like that. it's government related so they needed us to sign some form.
that's how cute we were! oh my gosh. definitely check that out.
that was so much fun. that was a blast! we don't like some individual time with the guy who
was running it. yeah he was awesome! yeah he was. very patient with our origami.
they gave us a little Nara Chopsticks. it was so nice. I don't think they get too many people
there, so um... and I never have seen it in any of the itineraries or anything. yeah definitely
check it out it's right by the kofukiji. Yeah Yeah where I pointed out earlier. just check it
out it it's a fun little stop. yeah let's go see some more temples! more temples? yeah! we didn't see the big one yet. we haven't seen a big one? the biggest wooden building in the world! is it really? it is! oh! yeah even after it burned down and they built it smaller again they're all in the planter boxes. they're everywhere! raised deer beds. I feel like everywhere you look look! I think this is the biggest concentration
of deer we found yet! and this isn't technically the Deer Park is it? no this is Todaiji Temple okay. we're just about to go to. I see. yeah.
and one of the guys at the cultural center told us the deer are so friendly because way
back when they were seen as messengers of God. so they were respected and loved and they still are! Haven't been hunted in 1200 years. Yep this is the todaiji gate, it's an entrance
to the todaiji temple complex. which is like the thing to see in Nara. it's the largest
wooden building in the world and also houses one of the largest Buddhist statues too. so
let's go check it out! how old is this gate? it looks really aged. I think it's like 12 or
1300 years old. I think it's from the 700s. that's when Nara was kind of like in its peak the temple grounds are so pretty! it's all
perfect fall colors right now. I love it here! so you go inside and you turn left. you can
buy the tickets for just the Buddha hall for 600 Yen each. and also the combo for a thousand. yeah combo if you want to see the museum for a thousand I think you light the incense and get the smoke on yourself to purify yourself before you go in the temple. the camera really doesn't
do it justice. like just walking up to it you're like whoa! it's huge! wow! the Buddha
statue is enormous! so at the back right side of the temple there's this pillar with a hole in it called Buddha's nostril. I guess it's the same size as the
nostril on the Statue up there, but if you are able to fit through it and crawl through
it it said that you'd have good luck or Prosperity unfortunately it's closed due to covid right
now, but be sure to check for it when you come! come on, Brandi! Up to the Nigatsu! so what is this? uh it's another just cool
temple Hall that has a great view of the balcony okay. you can pay to go inside too, but we're
just going for the balcony and The View this view is incredible! well, without the pole.
here we go. the nigatsudo is worth the extra trip. it's free. do it! it's exactly what you're hoping Japan would be like! yeah that Temple complex back there is like exactly
what I was always hoping Japan would look like. yeah like old Japan! old Japan! it's very
cool great cultural experience. that's kind of how Nara has been! yeah Nara has been great we've made it to kasugaTaisha Shrine, which is not super notable, but it's right on the edge of the forest, so you can really feel
the nature. it's super beautiful! look at all the trees this Shrine is known for its many Stone lanterns. check them out! they're super cool! you got stuff from the vending machine?! yeah! Is it good? Mhm! ice cream waffle? Ahh! Literally just attacked her! [everyone laughing] that scared me! did it get your ice cream? no i got it! Wow! wow aggressive birds here! the shrine is also known for its many bronze lanterns. wow! look at
all those lanterns! wow it's so cool look at all the lanterns! that's cool! Nara certainly has not disappointed me! I've
really enjoyed Nara! it's a really cool place. I did too!
