Off to Nara

Nara is a town that lies 35 km south of Kyoto and was Japan's first permanent capital. I came here for the history as there are eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites here but the cherry blossoms here were some of the best that I have seen.
This building is the Nara Tourist Information Centre just next door to the JR Nara Station (JR Rail means the railway line is owned and operated by Japan Rail. There are quite a few private railways in Japan too). The building is quite majestic and inside is very spacious and functional. I got a free map from here and the guide drew on it the best walking tour. I walked for five hours, apart from a 15 minute sit down, so was quite tired by the end of the day, but it was so worth it.