Todai-ji Shrine - Nara City

This is the Torii gate heading to the Giant Buddha Hall.  This was our FAVORITE site that we saw the entire tour.  Pictures do this amazing statue absolutely NO justice!!  I can't even describe how massive the Hall is:

In each of the corners of the shrine (north, south, east and west), there are "Diva Kings" that are the guards of the temple.  Michael is obsessed with these figures.  They remind him of his God of War video game :) These guards are carved out of wood and are about 25 feet high!

Here it is..

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Notice how little the people are in the doorway of the temple?

These pictures don't do the Giant Buddha justice AT ALL!  The statue stands about 52 feet tall and has endured multiple fires and earthquakes.  The head fell off in one of the natural disasters and had to be re-made (it looks a little newer).

Here is another one of the diva kings inside the building:

Michael in front of the statue (He isn't even as tall as one of the lotus petals in front of Buddha!)

This is a replica of the original grounds in 752.  It included 2 pagodas that stood 100 m high!  (both were destroyed in an earthquake)

This picture has poor lighting, but it is the only one we have of the comparison of the current structure to the original structure.  The current structure was rebuilt in 1709 and is 30% SMALLER than the original!

Another Diva King:

This hole drilled out is reportedly the size of the Giant Buddha's nostril.  If you can fit through the hole you are guaranteed entrance to Buddha's Paradise:

The statue to the right of Buddha:

Another view of the structure from the outside:

Waiting for everyone to finish with my new friend :)

I don't know why it is underlining some of the text (the underline option is not selected and I've hit "command u" to try and get rid of it to no avail)  can someone help??