After a couple of damp days in Kyoto, the sun came out for my trip down to Nara.

Nara was the capital before Kyoto, so we are talking about 1500 years ago. It is certainly much more compact than its big neighbour and chock full of temples. It houses the biggest wooden building in the world, built in the 1700 to house a gigantic Buddha, He still sits there, presiding over the hoards that come to pay homage. Amazingly the building used to be bigger, but was reduced in a round of 18th Century austerity cuts.

Paid my 150 Yen to walk up the mountain. It was a steep climb, but the view over the plains made it well worth the climb. There was a group of Japanese walkers out for a ramble, Nice to see the outfit of the walker is universal.

Now in the metropolis of Osaka. The hotel is very bizarre as all the rooms have steel doors. Makes it feel like you are staying in a prison cell. When you open the bathroom door the toilet seat rises automatically as if to say hi, how can I help you? Flushing the thing however, requires a degree from Nasa.