Day 11 Part 1: Osaka Castle and the Great Buddha in Nara

Jameson: Today we went to Osaka castle, the castle grounds were so big and the castle itself was visible from the edge of the moat. 

In the castle there were many displays showing the history of the castle. The castle and the wall were rebuilt many times because the Shogun changed a lot. 

The view from Osaka castle was immaculate, you could see over the whole area. 

They had movies playing on several floors explain architecture, history, and how they defended it. There was also trade from Europe to Osaka castle through port Nagasaki. So they had guns and cannons from England and the Dutch.

Sebastian：For the second half of the day, we traveled to Nara to visit the big Buddha statue. Once we got off the bus we took a walk down a street lined with little shops and hundreds of deer as far as the eye could see. 

Sensei explains about the incense sticks.

The Buddha statue itself was magnificent, because not only is it inside an absolutly stunning castle, it also stood at around 50 feet tall. And it wasn't the only statue inside. 

There were 4 other large statues around 35 feet tall, and a few smaller ones which were crafted with amazing detail. After visiting the statues inside the castle, we went back out to the sea of deer and got to play around with them. 

After visiting the statues inside the castle, we went back out to the sea of deer and got to play around with them. You could buy some osenbei crackers for 200¥ to feed to them as well. Fair warning, you will be swarmed the moment the crackers enter your hands. But it's still worth a shot to feed them.