The landmark

During my stay in Nara, my mantra is “All roads lead to Kintetsu Nara Station”. This place had been the familiar landmark for us since the very first day arriving in this place.

I still vividly remember when we first met Ms. Kimiko at KNS, she told us that there was a convenience store (Lawson) nearby where we could buy anything like water, snacks… before reaching NWU House. In front of that store, there is a statue of a monk:

Impressed as I was, I did think that it would be somewhat weird to take a picture of the statue. However, on the last days, I changed my mind, so that’s why I can add the photo of that monument here in my blog entry.

After a brief research on the Internet, there’s some information that I find interesting about the statue:

Gyoki Bosatsu (668-749) was a Japanese Buddhist priest in Nara Period. He contributed a lot to helping the poor and constructing infrastructure for social welfare. One of his most well known dedications is Todaiji Temple, remaining a cultural heritage until now. I’ll have a brand new post about this temple latter on.

The roof of the whole area was like a whole work of art for me:

Moreover, Higashimuki – a bustling shopping street, is also in proximity of the statue. I guess I must have traveled back and forth between the two ends of this street more than 10 times during my trip!

But sadly, I don’t have many beautiful pictures of it due to my absent-mindedness.

Here is one:

The rooftop here is decorated with dome shape and deer patterns, which I consider quite unique and indigenous to the prefecture. And the two girls walking in front were Su (HA) and Hue in order from left to right.

The next remarkable photo of Higashimuki street that I took is this one:

This restaurant reminded me of my beloved hometown, and I just wondered whether its owner was originally Vietnamese or not. I really love the design of the signs in that they were rich in Vietnamese typical patterns: Ao dai and Lotus. But anyway, we didn’t go inside (I’m sorry but I don’t think it’s a good idea for Vietnamese people to eat Vietnamese food during their exploration of the other culture haha).