Todaiji, Yoshiki-en and Kofukuji in Nara Park, Nara, Japan

Next mission: lunch near Nara Park. Big mistake. All the hungry people have converged in restaurants near the park, specifically in Yume Kaze Plaza. Because it is near a tourist area, meals here are expensive. But I am too hungry to find a cheaper option. I add to the long line for Tenpyoan Cafe and wait my turn.

After eating a ton of carbs (rice and noodles for energy!), it is time to join the hordes of tourists in Todaiji to visit the world's largest bronze Buddha.

I dodge tourists and deer as I walk towards Todaiji's Nandaimon (Great South Gate). I hate crowded places but a place as famous as Todaiji and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site? I just have to see it!

With every person I brush past, my expectation of Todaiji goes down a notch. In my head, the number of tourists is inversely proportional to the site's ability to make me go "wow". But, Todaiji, you prove me wrong. The humongous, ancient-looking wooden gate (Todaiji's Nandaimon, the largest temple entrance gate in Japan, designated as a National Treasure), the two dusty, old, wooden guardians (Kongo Rikishi, built in the year 1203, also National Treasures) residing in the gate, and the Daibutsuden or Great Buddha Hall (the largest wooden structure in the world) make me understand why many people come to see this place. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).