At about 10 we got on the nearby train and began the journey to Nara. It was only a 35 minute train ride but felt much further. We were above ground and felt the city falling away from us. Millie, I think, is still getting over her illness and was grumpy and then fell asleep on the train.

We arrived in Nara and followed the well-organized tourist signs towards Nara Park. We hopped on a bus and 5 minutes later started seeing the famous Nara deer(s?) outside the window.

These deer are famous in local folklore and today are known for bowing for visitors. We bought them crackers to eat and they really did bow for us. Some of them also headbutted us in our rears to ask for snacks. They weren’t aggressive, but they were pushy.

As always, my focus was on the trees.

After we had fed the deer all our flavorless crackers (yes, Nick tasted them) we walked towards the Tōdai-ji Shrine. Nick read ahead to give us the tidbits, like it is one of the largest wooden structures in the world.

We took a mediocre selfie.

Inside, we were all amazed at the scale of the Buddha and the wood-carved sculptures. Photos do not do it justice.

Millie crawled through the pillar with a hole in it. Fitting through is said to bring enlightenment and good luck. She asked me ahead of time “this is just a story and not true, right?” … her realist parents and rubbing off on her.

After the shrine, we walked to a nearby cafe for lunch. I had a traditional meal of fluffy rice omelet, it was good but not great. We walked back to the station and rode home.

After some whining (still getting over illness?) we gave Millie an early bath and bedtime. Nick and I took advantage of grandparents in town and headed out on a date. We ate at a yakitori place. They gave us sizzling chicken thighs and it reminded me of fajitas from home.

After dinner we walked around a lively area in search of a nightcap.

We found a divey bar where they were playing hip hop and served the drinks in solo cups and napkins in “live laugh love” containers.

We talked about travel, why it’s weird being around other tourists, the rest of our trip, and our plans for the next couple of months. Mostly we talked about parenting and how hard it is and how much we question if we are doing it right. Only time will tell.