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Weather: beautiful springy day with blue sky and mild temperature
Lunch: id:okaki 's lunch box
Dinner: porkchop (Mark), chawanmushi (Mayumi)
Temples visited: Horyuji, Fujinoki-kofun, Jikoin (tea), Yakushiji

The weather was perfect, and the temples we visited were not crowded at all. Even at Horyuji temple, the oldest wooden structure in the world, we did not need to line up to see the Buddha images.

The highlight of the day was a lunch that id:okaki prepared. She is a genius cook who can create tasty and beautiful dishes from any ingredients. For me who still has trouble eating, she made a very soft sesame tofu, ground seaweed and bamboo shoots formed in the gelatin, and etc. Even though I knew that she was a wonderful cook from her blog and other contacts, her art of cooking was beyond imagination.

The most amazing sight of the day was the four devas in Yakushiji-temple. At about 5:00 pm, just as the temple was preparing to close, a late afternoon sunbeam came into the building. Suddenly their eyes (made of glass) started blazing, and the faint remants of gold leaf that outlined the folds of their attire shone just as though they were made of silk. Their faces were terrifying for only a few minutes, but they were breathing and alive for that short moment.

The ancient masters must have calculated the effect of the sunlight and everything. What an amazing sight!