Kasuga Taisha Shrine is one of the most important Shinto shrines in Nara and is one of the “Three Great Shrines” of Japan. It was officialy established in 768 by the Fujiwara clan, but is believed to date from the beginning of the Nara period (710). The shrine is located at the western foot of Mt. Mikasa and Mt. Kasuga, sacred mountians from which the Shinto kami (gods) first descended. The powerful Fujiwara clan (one of the most powerful aristocratic families of the period) and the Imperial court worshipped here, making it very prosperous. Kasuga Taisha Shrine was unified with Kofukuji Temple in the later half of the Heian period (794-1185) with the emergance of the new theological philosophy of Kami-Buddha Fusion. The Shrine’s affiliation with Kofukuji lasted until the Meiji restoration (1868-1912) when the government established Shinto as the state religion and ordered the separation of Buddhism and Shintoism.

If I had to pick a time of the year to go, I would try to go when they have festivals and light the lanterns. They do it only twice during the year, once at the beginning of February and the second time during the Obon season in the middle of August.

Read more about fall in Japan and check out some of my favorite places to see the autumn foliage after the jump.

Along with cherry blossom season, fall is a great time to visit Japan. In any country, fall leaves are beautiful and make for great photos and this holds especially true with Japan. Japan’s most famous fall leaf is the Japanese Maple Tree which turns brillant red in the fall. These red leaves are reffered to as “koyo” or “kouyou” (紅葉) in Japanese. The photo on the left was taken at The Itchiku Kubota Kimono Museum and the one on the right on the grounds of the Golden Pavilion.

There are many sites in Japanese that give more detailed information, I cannot read Japanese very well, but even so, there are some sites that are very helpful. For example rurubu.com has a map of Japan and a small color picture of a maple leaf to represent the current status of the leaves in the area. If you want to find a different site, simply go do a google search for “紅葉” followed by the year (紅葉 2006) and you will get more sites in Japanese. The photo below was taken at Kinkakuji in Kyoto.

The bulleted list below are places I have been to and personally recommend for the fall season.

• • Arashiyama
  • Fuji Five Lakes
  • Kyoto
  • Naruko (Tohoku)
  • Nikko
  • Tokyo

If you can choose anytime of the year to come to Japan, cherry blossom season is the best time (also fall is a great time). During this time, the seasonal flowers can be seen all over Japan and make for great photos. The 2007 cherry blossom forecast will be released around late February or early March and can be seen at the site of the Japan Meteorology Agency.

When the winters are mild (like the winter of 2007 is) the cherry blossom trees tend to bloom a little earlier than normal. While the forecasts are usually pretty close, like the weather, when cherry blossoms bloom are still slightly unpredictable! Also, different factors such as how much sun a tree gets, play a large role as well.

Friends, co-workers and family participate in Hanami (literally meaning “flower watching”). Hanami consists of reserving a space (sometimes as early as the day before in crowded places like Tokyo) with a tarp or blanket, where there are many cherry blossom trees and then having a picnic under the blossoming flowers. Usually large consumptions of alcohol is consumed. Here is an example of hanami.

Cherry blossom or in Japanese, sakura, is Japan’s most famous flower. Sakura bloom once a year starting as early as February in some places in Okinawa and slowly move north. The Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, Himeji) and Kanto (Tokyo) regions tend to start blooming around late March or early April. Tohoku and Hokkaido in late April to May. About a week after a cherry blossom tree first starts to bloom, the tree will be in full bloom for only a couple of days before they start lose their blossoms.

A little information about the deer; for the most part the deer are really well behaved (some even seem to bow after or before you feed them–really I promise!) and pose no threat to you but there are some things to take caution about:

• • Avoid deer with antlers–there is a festival in October where the deers get their antlers cut off, but there are still some that do have them (as you can see in the photo below I did not follow my own advice but I do not recommend approaching deers with antlers). Obviously you do not want to get rammed by a deer but even more so by a deer that has sharp and hard antlers.
  • Do not make sudden movements–not only will this make the deer uneasy and maybe run away, but you also might anger another person who is trying to take a photo of the deer (this happened to me a couple of times and I was not too happy about losing my subject!)
  • Be aware of baby deer–if there is a baby there are likely to be parents close by and nothing angers a parent more than if the parent feels their child is in danger!

The deer are really used to visitors and a lot of times will pose nicely with you. If they find out you have food to give them they will follow you around for a little bit and sometimes call their friends over. Also, I was somewhat surprised at the whining sounds deers make. Check out the video of the deer to hear it.

Want to see more photos of Nara Park? Take a look at the gallery to see more photos of Nara Park!

To be honest, before going, I was not too excited about it, but once I was then I was taken in with the sheer size of the building and the Buddha inside, especially when taking into consideration how long ago this was built.  The statue of Buddha, also known as Daibutsu, is 14.98 meters (about 50 feet) tall and weighs about 500 metric tons (500,000 kg).

Todaiji is located in Nara Park is a place you can’t miss if you are visiting Nara.  For more information see the wikipedia.

I highly recommend checking Nara out, especially in the fall. If you want, you could probably see most of Nara without staying overnight, but I recommend staying one night there just to make sure you can see everythign you want to see. Below are a few places that you will not want to miss:

• • Todaiji–Huge temple that holds Japan’s largest Buddha (top photo)
  • Nara Koen–Nara Park is where a lot of temples, shrines and 1200+ deer are
  • Horyuji–Oldest wooden building and structures in the world
  • Kokufuji
  • Kasuga Taisha–Fabulous Shinto Shrine and a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • Toshodaiji
  • Yakushiji

For more information see the official site of Nara or the Japan Guide.

Kyoto is the old capital of Japan is said to have more than 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines. Also Kyoto’s district Gion, is the only place in Japan where you can regularly see real geisha or maiko (and no they are not prostitutes).

There are many famous places and most of which I will encourage you to go to, but sometimes it is a good idea to go off the beaten path and find your own little treasure in Kyoto.

Here are some of the famous places you should consider going:

• • Nanzenji (My personal favorite)
  • Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion)
  • Ginkakuji (Silver Pavillion)
  • Ryoan-ji (Most famous rock garden of all of Japan)
  • Kiyomizudera (One of the most famous temples in Japan and a good view of Kyoto)
  • Tetsugaku no michi (Philosopher’s Path)
  • Kokedera (Moss Garden Temple–3000 yen and reservation required to enter!)
  • Ninnanji (A very diverse UNESCO World Heritage Site close to Ryoanji)
  • Fushimi Shrine (Shinto Shrine with thousands of tori gates)

Kyoto is about 2 hours by shinkansen from Tokyo and about 45 minutes by express train from Osaka. For more detailed access information please see Japan-Guide.com.

Here are some Links you may find useful about Kyoto:

• • Kyoto’s Visitor’s Guide–Online version of the monthly publication.
  • Kyoto Event Web Magazine–Provides information about festivals and events.
  • K’s Hostel–The best hostel in Kyoto.
  • Japan-Guide.com–A lot of really good information
  • Kyoto Prefecture Travel Guide–Official site of Kyoto Prefecture with travel information

The word ki (畿) in Kinki is also read in Japanese as miyako meaning capital. It stems from the fact that up until the Edo era Japan’s capital was located in this region.

The Kansai region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Mie, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, and Shiga. The Kansai region is often compared (yet more often contrasted) with the Kantō region, which lies to the east and is comprised primarily of Tokyo and the surrounding area.

The Kansai region is the mainstay of the counterculture to the Kanto region (Tokyo/Yokohama), and can be said to define the character of Western Japan.

For more information, please see wikipedia or the Japan-Guide.com.