Travellers: JAPAN TRIP: DAY 11 Half Day Trip to Nara, Smile Burger

A few more posts to conclude this Japan trip series! It was a cloudy Saturday morning when we went to Nara from Kyoto. We rode the trains via Keihan Main Line & Kintetsu Kyoto Line those costed us 1,540 JPY for a return trip. It took around an hour from Kyoto to reach Nara via train. Nara (previously known as Heijo) was the first permanent capital city of Japan. As the first capital city, Nara is also known as the home of many historical treasures including some of Japan's oldest and largest temple.

From the station, we planned to walk to Todaiji, one of the most famous historical temple in Japan. Upon walking from the station, we met lotsa sika deer (spotted deer / Japanese deer) which are regarded as heavenly animals in Nara.

You could also meet those many vendors selling those deer biscuits to feed those deer.

If you want to explore wider area in Nara, you could buy Nara Bus Pass for unlimited use of Nara Kotsu buses around Nara.

It was Saturday, but the road was quite empty. Nara was pretty green, tall trees were everywhere. If you like scenic spots with many traditional buildings and trees, Nara is the right place to visit.

After around half an hour walk, we reached Todaiji. Nandaimon Gate, a large wooden gate stands upon the entrance of Todaiji. And around the temple area, you will meet lotsa deer again, here and there wandering around or just resting freely. Most of the shops around Todaiji also sell deer-themed souvenirs.

Todaiji, the Buddhist temple complex, was listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara".

Great Buddha Hall (daibutsuden)

I didn't enter the temple, well actually I didn't really enjoy temple visit. I just enjoyed the scenic historical buildings, the environment, and people watching. From Todaiji, we decided just to go back to Kyoto. Actually there were many other places to visit, but we decided just to spend the afternoon at Teramachi.

I loved the melancholic kinda view alongside the road we took on our way back to the station.

Next to Nara station, we spotted Sanjo-dori where you could meet many shops and eateries along the street.

We just randomly entered a restaurant that looked quite promising and affordable to enjoy lunch.

Here were what we had for lunch.

Tendon Teishoku - JPY 700

Tempura on rice with a bowl of udon / soba.

Nishin Soba-Teishoku - JPY 850

Udon / soba with herring and a soy sauce rice with chicken.

Overall, the meals we had at this place were quite decent and affordable. From Nara, we head back straight to Kyoto, to be exact Teramachi, to do some shopping.

We got back to our guesthouse in the evening, at I was quite hungry. I walked to this burger restaurant nearby called Smile Burger. Even if you don't stay around this area, you might met this restaurant on your way to Kiyomizu Dera.

There were only me and the chef at the restaurant, maybe because it was quite late already. My friend didn't want to have dinner, so here I was, alone at a burger restaurant, looking for a something to bite.

This plate of burger served with chips costed me JPY 1,050, but it was worth it. It was delicious! The buns were soft and nice, and the patty was grilled perfectly. One of the most memorable burger I had so far. I went back to the guesthouse with a happy tummy, and rested really well that night.