Woke up around 3:00, couldn't get back to sleep, so I started a new book, Erik Larson's The Demon of Rest, about the events leading up to the shelling of Ft Sumter in South Carolina and the start of the Civil War. I was feeling a little congested, could be that I've caught the cold that Ann has. I went back to sleep after 5:00 and woke up feeling a little better, enough to go out for a short run at a little faster pace than the previous day. Followed a similar route to the road by the larger river west of where we were staying, still had to stop regularly at intersections. Felt fine during the run.
Avg pace = 7:54/mi
Total distance = 3.36 mi
Elapsed running time = 26:32
Avg heartrate = 134 bpm (Coospo)
Relative Effort = 12
Ann was still asleep when I got back but got up not too long after. I ate some pancakes and a banana for breakfast, took a shower. Still was feeling a little bit off but not too bad. I read some more, then in mid-morning Ann and I walked to the JR train station and took the train to Nara. Train came into Nara Station, and it was around a mile to the park where the deer were concentrated. On the way, we walked through the grounds of Kohfuku-ji Temple. Nothing particularly noteworthy there, IMHO. Then we walked over to an area where the Nara deer were concentrated. Lots of people, lots of deer. They were selling crackers to feed to the deer, who would bow for you if you bowed first and particularly if you had food for them. They were fairly insistent when food was offered but generally left you alone if you didn't have anything to offer. One male grabbed the map out of Ann's hands and chewed off a corner before letting it go. That was pretty funny. We walked through a couple more areas where there were a lot of deer, didn't buy any crackers for them. We walked over to another temple area and looked in but didn't pay to walk through. From there, it was time to head back to the station. We took a different route, not much more interesting other than seeing a little girl get head-butted by a deer. That must have hurt, but she seemed more frightened than injured. Back to the station with about 5 minutes before our train left, which cut it a little close but all good. Train back and walk back to Airbnb went smoothly. We chilled out in the afternoon, I made stir fry for lunch and had a short nap, felt better afterwards. In the late afternoon we walked over to the Dotonbori neighborhood, which is touristy and funky. We ate okonomiyaki at this great little place called Oko-Fun Bar, which had just two people working there, the one taking orders (I think she's the owner) and the cook. Serve yourself drinks on the honor system. Just a great vibe, and the food was plentiful and delicious. After dinner, we walked through the neighborhood, was quite crowded for a Monday night. The rest of Osaka was meh for me, but this area was a real treat. Walked back after that and packed up our stuff, cleaning the place as well.
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