TODAI-JI

The world's largest bronze buddha statue. ​

Aside from the fabulous deer, Nara is famous for it's GIANT statue of Buddha. When I say giant, I mean GIANT. It is hard to capture just how large this statue is, it fills up the whole height of the centuries old building easily. An English speaking local guide gave me a little tour, telling me all sorts of little details. Such as how the oldest part of the whole place is actually the strange cylinder in the grounds (the temple itself is a reconstruction that is actually only two thirds of the size of the original). And how the tiles in the courtyard represent the journey the statue went on before arriving in Nara. It was an interesting experience, and very humbling to try and take in the fifteen metre tall statue all at once.