Deer Park is AWESOME, Nara Japan (Original Content)
The best places to go are always free.
At least that's been my experience since I began traveling in 2008 and Nara Park was no exception to this rule.
Just a short train ride from Kyoto will take you to Nara which is possibly place I've encountered in Japan (which in itself speaks volumes). Here at Nara you will find deer roaming freely around a massive park.
When you arrive you will have a 2.5km walk to the deer park, beginning at Nara Plaza. Along the way you will encounter restaurants, souvenir shops and even an Owl Cafe (will blog about this next :)).
Once you've arrived at the park you can look for this guy, the local deer biscuit salesman. Be warned, the deer LOVE these biscuits. They will bite you, head butt you and kick you depending on their mood and how much they want a biscuit. As seen here they will ambush you at the biscuit salesman, until he pulls out his fly swat and swats them away.
There are over 1200 Wild "Sika" deer in this park. They are everywhere and reminded me a lot of farming mobs in Lineage 2, an MMORPG I used to play.
The deer aren't the only reason to come to the park, it's actually quite stunning on its own. The camera doesn't really capture the mood, but imagine a darkening forest at dusk with a low lying fog in the middle of Autumn, littered with lakes and hundreds of years old shrines.
If you show your biscuits to the deer (a dangerous thing to do if the deer has antlers) then they will come over to you. It's better to stick with the little ones to be honest because some of them really are quite aggressive.
Did I say aggressive? Not all of them. Some are extremely cute and they will use this skill to get your biscuits.
A deer guarding the bridge. We had to give it a biscuit to get past. Shameless Instagram filter on this one.
Around the park there are many temples for worship. They really set the mood in some places.
The deer in this park were once considered sacred by one of the four gods of "Kasuga Shrine" and killing them would get you the death penalty.
Some more structures from the park.
The deer like to scratch themselves on the shrines.
And some more photos to wrap up this post :)
Thus was the end of my favourite day so far in Japan. If I were to go back I would probably try and camp in the park, as I saw a campsite on Google maps. That would be an amazing experience, was disappointed that I hadn't known of it earlier. You can find this campsite here if you are interested.
very attractive deer park in japan.
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It would be great if you could camp in Nara Park. I'm not sure if camping is permitted there, but if you found a quiet, secluded spot, you could probably do it.
We used to camp in many places in Japan, from farmers' private fields to seaside caves and under bridges and in downtown parks. The only place we were told NOT to camp was a campground which had not yet opened for the season.
Almost anywhere in Japan, you can set up a tent on public property, drink beer on public property, and make yourself totally comfortable.
As long as you behave decently, you will not be bothered. And in fact, many people will welcome you and do whatever they can to ensure that you are comfortable.
Enjoy your travels. Full Steem Ahead.
Hey great comment, I'd love to come back to Japan and rent a motorbike and ride everywhere it seems like the perfect country to do this. Knowing that I could wild camp without too many issues is a really good thing. Perhaps next year....
Great pictures and the deer are very cute though. This looks like a place I'd love to visit!! Great post once again :-)
Great pictures and the deer are very cute though I'd be too afraid to give them a biscuit.
OMG, they are so cute! I love deer. They make every photo better!
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OMG I want to be there!!!
Possibly my favourite place in the world now :) I want to be back!
Two of my SOs are going to Japan in May. I am so jealous. Unfortunately, my chronic pain condition prevents me from joining them. Which sucks. It's their second trip to Japan.
Damn that sucks! Maybe ask them to set up a periscope for you?
They're actually looking into buying a gopro so they can livestream everything from their pov.
Such an amazing time to be alive. Was thinking this the other day as I was hiking up a mountain while speaking to my friend on Telegram...
Agreed. We're living in the future, man!
If you don't mind me asking, how much did your trip to Japan cost you? This looks like a place I'd love to visit!! Better start budgeting!!
Hi Brendan, that's a good question, I will check all of my ATM withdrawals when I get home and blog about this but I suspect including flights it will come to around $7000 AUD for 2 weeks, approx $5500 USD I think.
TBH I haven't found it any more expensive than Western Europe, or North America. Some things are cheap ( beer, food) and others expensive (accommodation, transport).
img credz: pixabay.com
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This post is...
nice