Exploring Narita

Yesterday was yet another amazing day.

After breakfast we hung out in our hotel rooms and played uno with the kids. Afterwards we went out for a sushi, soup, salad, and roast beef lunch. It was delicious! (For the record wasabi goes well with roast beef).

After lunch we hit the free shuttle again, this time to Narita city for an all important lesson in making it up as you go along. Armed only with a map entirely in Japanese and a general knowledge of which direction was north, we set out to find the Naritisan Temple and Park (a 15-20 min walk from the bus station). We found the road that we figured was the correct one, and finally found a sign pointing to the temple to confirm it. It's a small street lined with numerous shops that has apparently been around for centuries selling wares to locals and visitors alike. It was fun looking around in all the shops and seeing what they were selling.

Main Gate

The temple complex was amazing. The buildings are mostly rebuilds from the 18th century or later, but the temple itself was founded in 940 AD.

Once through the main gate and up the main stairwell, you can smell the incense that burns continuously for the prayers of the people. At various locations throughout the temple we were able to observe a special Buddhist ceremony that had hundreds of Japanese women in identical Kimonos dancing in synch to music. It was amazing to watch them all.

I could have spent many more hours in the park behind the temple complex exploring. There were paths that twisted and turned it seemed everywhere, and there were only so many we could walk down in the time we had. What we did see was absolutely beautiful though. The kids got a kick out of feeding the fish and turtles in the ponds as well.

On our way back we stopped at a Ramen place that's apparently a favorite spot among the airline operators that come through. It was great food, and we were able to feed all of us for about $47USD (3600 Yen-all prices include tax and tip here).

Thank you Narita for a wonderful few days. Your people and your food are amazing, and we hope to be back again soon.