NARA: May 21: We took the shinkansen to Nara, the city which was briefly (710-794) the capital of Japan before Kyoto. Considering that Japan’s civilization does not go back many centuries earlier than this, it is astonishing how many remnants of the old imperial culture have been preserved. A colorful temple near the beginning of our walk. It was near the Kofuku-ji Temple, which we failed to identify (or photograph).