Nara preceded Kyoto as the capital of Japan (710-784), and it is regarded as the cradle of Japanese civilization, culture, religion and the arts. Nara is 28 miles south of Kyoto, so this is an easy day trip from Kyoto by train. However, you can spend more time here because it is like a mini-Kyoto, with plenty of interesting temples to visit. Nara is the home of the world's oldest existing wooden building (Horyuji Temple), the world's largest wooden structure (the Great Buddha Hall at Todai-ji) and Japan's largest bronze statue (the Vairocana Buddha at Todai-ji). The latter two are celebrated as National Treasures of Japan.
If you come into Nara for the day, you will probably pass the Three-Story Pagoda and Five-Story Pagoda in the center of town. Continue walking east to visit Nara-koen, otherwise appropriately nicknamed Deer Park. This area was a wasteland until it was cultivated into a grassy park. A population of about 1000 deer roams about the park, docile as can be. They are either munching on the grass or looking for food handouts from visiting tourists. The deer will offer plenty of photo opportunities for warm fuzzy shots of them posing in front of temples, ponds, trees and mountains.
Probably the most famous temple in Nara is Todai-ji, and with good reason. This magnificent complex is set within the heart of Nara-koen. You will probably go through the Nandai-mon (Great Southern Gate), which was rebuilt during the 13th Century. Then you will encounter the huge Great Buddha Hall, which also has the names Kon-do or Daibutsu-den. This is the largest wooden building in the world, with a width of 187 feet, depth of 166 feet, and height of 160 feet. The original building was constructed starting in 745 with a scale even larger than the present-day hall. The current building, rebuilt in 1709, is the "smaller" third version, as fires desecrated the earlier two versions. As the name suggests, the building houses the Vairocana Buddha, Japan's largest bronze statue with a height of 49 feet and a weight over 450 tons. Consecrated in 752, it has suffered damage due to earthquake and fire over the years. Little of the current statue is original, but nevertheless the Buddha figure is still impressive with its gold plating.
The most curious element of the Great Buddha Hall is a slot in an interior column located at ground level. Legend has it that if a person can crawl through this tiny slot of space (about a foot wide), then that person is destined to reach paradise. I spotted lots of little (emphasis on the "little") kids crawling through the column slot as if they were at some playground.