This is starting to sound like a broken record... you wouldn't know about Nara unless you were interested in Japanese history and culture. Or at least until you started planning a trip, looking for places of interest outside Tokyo. Nara is a popular tourist destination because of its long history. It was the home of early settlements and ancient emperors.

Going back into prehistory, Nara and the surrounding area were settled by the peoples now known as the Yamato. (Nara lies in the Yamato Plain.) This was where the early Japanese people evolved from simple hunter-gatherers and began the cultivation of rice. The area south and west of Nara is also the location of ancient keyhole-shaped burial mounds, one of them extending half a mile from end to end. Egypt's pyramids are huge, but no constructed/earthworks tomb anywhere in the world is bigger than this particular example. (Most of these burial mounds are more on the order of a quarter-mile in length.) Some of the mounds are reputed to be the tombs of the Emperors who reigned before written history. (According to legend, all of the Japanese Emperors were, and still are, the earthly descendents of Amaterasu, the Shinto sun goddess.)

Moving into more modern history, Nara became Japan's first permanent capital in 710 AD. Following close on the heels of the introduction of Buddhism, this period saw the construction of numerous temples (in addition to the Shito shrines that already existed). As was usually the case in this era, all of these buildings were made of wood. And in at least one case, one of these original buildings still exists, making it the world's oldest wooden building.

Also in Nara is the world's largest wooden building, the Todai-ji Temple . For all its size, the original building, built in 745 AD, was 30% larger. (The current building dates from the early 1700s.) Within the temple is Japan's largest image of the Buddha, at 53 feet high. The original Buddha was completed in 751, having consumed most of Japan's bronze production for several years and leaving the country near bankruptcy. There have been many restorations to the statue, as recently as the Edo era.

Another point of interest in Nara is the Kofuku-ji Temple. Within the temple grounds is a 150-foot pagoda, made famous by numerous woodblock print images of the view of the pagoda from across neighboring Sarusawa Pond (sarusawa-no-ike). If I'm in the mood, I might actually take a picture or two!

Most of these places are contained in Nara Park, which has an additional attraction: tame deer. They wander freely through the park, and are easily pursuaded to eat out of your hand. This sounds enchanting from 6,500 miles away, but there's a very good chance that in reality they'll be more like really cute 4-legged pigeons.

In spite of the fact that Nara is a major tourist destination, I imagine I'll be pretty well awestruck by the sheer age of the place. During my 2005 trip, I learned quickly to see beyond the souvenir shops and the crowds. At Senso-ji , for instance (that's the temple in Tokyo with the huge red lanterns), the entire length of nakamise-dori, the narrow street extending from the outer to the inner gate, is lined with souvenir shops. (Full disclosure: I bought a bag of puffed-rice candy, a 10-inch paper lantern that looks like the huge lantern at the outer gate, and a refrigerator magnet that looks like the same lantern.) But noticing the shops, and even patronizing a few of them, doesn't have to take away from the feeling of awe or even reverence for a place so rich in history. I'm really looking forward to visiting Nara.