11:54am:
I’m in Nara, and am sitting at a pond. I’m also feeling a masure of pride. From the train station I just started walking based on a hunch and my unreliable sense of direction. I stepped into a temple enclosure about halfway here but quickly stepped out. It looked like a working temple rather than a sightseeing one. Shortly after I stepped into a tourist office for directions only to find out I was going the right way after all. I’m taking a picture of the pond. As I walked up I saw some logs near one side with what I thought were bronze turtles but now that I’m closer I think they’re all real. The last few minutes gongs have periodically run out. I wonder if there’s a changing of the monks going on, rather like a changing of the guards.