Bon-Odori at Nigatsu-do Hall/ 二月堂の十七夜盆踊り

"Bon-Odori"is one of the typical summer events in Japan. Bon-Odori usually take place in August but the one in Nara occurs on the 17th of September at Nigatsu-do hall, Todaiji temple.

I hadn't seen the festival for many years so it was quite amusing to witness it again. If you believe that Japanese people tend to be shy and quiet and always polite you should come and see this popular event and find out how much they can get into this Japanese folk dance!

ちょっと遅くなりましたが、９月に東大寺・二月堂で行われた”十七夜盆踊り”に行った時の写真です。

久しぶりに”盆踊り”というものを間近で見ましたが、みなさん気合いが入っています！なかなかの迫力です！！

Sunset Spot in Nara/ 奈良の夕焼けスポット

One of the great things about living in Nara is that so many sightseeing spots and world heritage sites -whether it is temples, shrines, or the primeval forest- are just a few minutes cycle ride from your doorstep. As we get many visitors during the daytime I prefer to visit either early morning while the air is still clear or earlly evening when there are few people around and the sun is going down.

The shots today were taken at Nigatsu-do hall it is one of the structures in Todai-ji temple in Nara park (also known as the deer park). Most of the tourists go to the main temple where the great Buddha is housed but not many go to Nigatsu-do hall.
I highly recommend this place especially at sunset, you can view the entire city all the way to Ikoma mountain...
Just take a little extra walk up the hill and it's free of charge! 

奈良に住んでいて、素晴らしいな...と感じることのひとつに、うちから自転車で10分程度のことろに観光スポットや世界遺産、原生林などがあることろです。
日中は国内外からの観光客が多いので、空気の澄んでいる早朝か人気の少なくなった夕暮れ時に出かけるのが好きです。

今回の写真は、東大寺・二月堂で撮影したものです。あのお水取り（修二会）で有名なことろです。ここからの眺めはとてもいいのですが、たいていの人は大仏殿を見て満足してしまうのか、ここまで登ってくる人は多くないかもしれません。
だけど、奈良で夕焼けを見るなら、お勧めのスポットです！奈良市の向こう側に生駒山まで見渡せます。
なんといってもタダです！！