maccas, bullet trains and finding my inner zen

my two friends anna and carrie always insist that maccas (mickey d’s) in australia is shit (they’re from the states and canada); as i sat down to eat my third juicy chicken set-o since i arrived in japan, i realised this is true. they even have grape fanta as a beverage option!

i’ve had two ‘firsts’ this week. i went to a REAL zen garden (featuring the most beautiful sakura tree in the history of sakura trees) and caught the shinkansen (bullet train). i still have to get used to people smoking indoors - it’s really stinky but i guess it’s like walking into a public toilet; your nose adjusts eventually.

i caught the shinkansen to nara, the old capital of japan. the temple i went to see, todaiji temple, is surrounded by parks that are home to over a thousand semi-wild deer. i tried to take some snapshots with them but they were really only interested if you had biscuits for them to eat. and when you have biscuits, they know it! they run at you and bump their antlers at your arse and nip at your clothes until you give baby food! i quickly learned that the key is to stay calm and don’t run or scream (it can get overwhelming, all these animals converging in your aura!); i was in stitches watching little kids and mums yelling and carrying on with a herd of deer gallivanting after them!