I rarely go to Todaidji unless I'm chaperoning someone who has read too many guides books. Horyuji and Toshodai, however are IMHO sublimely beautiful, the buildings are more than twice as old as almost everything in Kyoto, the sculpture at Horyuji is (again IMHO) among the best ever done anywhere at anytime. For me, these temples make me feel a real tangible connection to the ancient past.

We utilized taxis to and from the train station since we were coming/going on the bus to/from the airport there. Otherwise we either walked or took the bus. There are always taxis in front of the hotel so grabbing one from there shouldn't be an issue.

If you will be visiting temples in Kyoto & Nara, make sure to wear shoes that are easy to slip on & off.

We're in Kyoto at the moment and the heat is already brutal. Our solution is much as described above. Up at a decent hour to do something in the morning, lunch and then indoors for the afternoon, out again after the sun begins to go down. One antidote we discovered are the city buses. They go almost everywhere and many take a circular route. We take the LONG way around between destinations, and find that we're fairly cooled down and ready for the next adventure.

Today, for example:

we're staying at a guest house in Gion, and caught the 201 bus and took it up to the northwest corner of the Imperial Gardens, arriving at 9:15 we were lucky to snag admission to the 10:00 English-speaking tour. Brutally hot, and not much shade, but at 11:00 when the tour ended we found our way back to the 201 and took it all the way around to the covered market on Shiji-Dori, and we're cooled down when we arrived. The market is shady and we strolled around and had some lunch. Back to the apartment by 2:00, and we'll venture out for dinner at about 6:00 after a nice siesta.

Oh - take umbrellas and a sweat rag - the locals all do and they make a huge difference - nothing like sweat dripping off your nose! Some clever people have "sweat scarfs" that drape over your shoulders.

By the way, while Horyuji is amazing (the oldest surviving wooden buildings in the world), it is not in Nara, but a few train stops down on the way to Osaka.

Don't know if you've left yet.

I think that Kyoto is very much a 2 day minimum city for a first timer (like I was). Even for a first timer who's not big into temples/shrines and the like.

Especially in August - when the weather seems to be about the same as we have in Florida (I think lots of the posts here about doing things in the summer - i.e., getting up and out early - then resting inside in the afternoon - then going out again in the evening - are on target).

FWIW - we spent 3 days in Kyoto on our first and only trip to Japan. We were supposed to go to Nara on the 3rd day - but we were too tired (it wasn't even in the summer - but it was at the end of about an 18 day trip).

As for seeing deer. You can come to my house and see them in my backyard eating my flowers. A pox on those deer (I wouldn't go 5 feet out of my way to see a deer)!!!! Robyn

In that case, you might want to add the following to your Japan trip..


http://www.huntingforadventure.com/japan.html

:D.

Living in a normal US homeowners association - guns are off limits.

And putting an antler rack up on a wall wouldn't be my preferred method of decorating.

Still - when I see those deer in my yard making lunch of my herbs and flowers and similar - it's all I can do to restrain myself. Robyn

hey thanks for all the replies. I was laughing at the deer comments. My parents have the same issue on their property - the deer eat all the landscaping. My dad has tried everything short of shooting them (we're not a hunting family :P) and nothing really works.

So we ended up cancelling our Nara tour for a number of reasons. Im glad we did as it was an all day trip and the heat is going to be oppressive. We're in Korea and its truly unbearable - I think its even hotter in Japan right now. So we'll go on our Kyoto day tour and then go off on our own the 2nd day.

Hate to sound like a broken record - but try Mr. Doi for a guide in Kyoto:

http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~doitaxi/

Not only is he an excellent English speaking guide - but I'd bet his new van has great A/C! Robyn

Try a good slingshot with 1/2" steel balls.... or a dog.

Sigh...almost as soon as I wrote that reply, my mother in law started ranting about the radiation in Japan and cancelling our trip. I tried to argue with her but to no avail. I had to cancel the whole trip. I am SO bummed and a little bitter. Cant even believe it...

That's too bad. We had some discussion about this here a while back. And I didn't get the impression that there were problems in Tokyo and points south. At my age - I am more worried about doctors ordering too many tests that involve radiation than going to Tokyo for a week. And - as far as Tokyo itself goes - I am more worried about earthquakes and typhoons than radiation. Robyn

Yeaa...I'm not concerned even a little about radiation in Japan. My MIL was freaking (she also told me my fan was going to kill me in my sleep...Wikipedia fan death...it baffles me that such a smart lady is susceptible to such ridiculous notions cooked up by the Korean media...). I was sooo looking forward to park Hyatt Tokyo. I also got a RIDICULOUS rate at the Hyatt in Kyoto (120ish USD a night) and I am really sad to forfeit that as well. That rate was non refundable but the manager at Hyatt Kyoto was kind enough to refund it as a courtesy. Ill never get a rate like that again.

Trying not to hate my MIL right now but between telling us we have to lose weight every 5 min and this, I'm realy struggling...

We now have 4 free hyatt nights (plus 2 that my parents are giving us). Maybe we'll go to Paris for New Years...). ㅠ.ㅠ so sad

As you say.... a ridiculous notion. If she's worried about radiation, she should be concerned about the plane ride not the destination.