Nara Park is the deer park of Japan – with beautiful temples, shrines, gardens, and hundreds of hungry friends waiting for you.
This deer park is famous for its bowing deer – you can buy crackers for them in several places (about ¥150 for 10 or so) and then watch how fast they notice you. They are trained to bow back to you if you bow to them first. There are over 1200 sika deer in the park and are deeply treasured in Japan.
Be aware though that some of the larger deer can get very pushy and aggressive once they see you have some food. If you put the crackers in your pocket, they might shove their mouth into it, or even nip you to get more food. They are not pets – so don’t think you can cuddle with them like a dog and get too close.
Nara Park is one of Japan’s oldest, and was created in 1880.
If you have limited time, you can see the sights of Nara Park in about half a day – feed the deer, plus see the Todaiji Temple (a must see), Kasuga Shrine, Kofukuji Temple, plus the beautiful Isuien and Yoshikien Gardens. The park itself is free and open 24/7. Most of the deer are near the Todaiji Temple area, though they roam all over.
Nara Park (奈良公園) is very easy to find from the JR Nara Station, and Nara is about 45 minutes from Kyoto on a rapid service JR train. Then just a 20 minute walk eastward, or there are some buses or taxis if you prefer.
Another way is by the Kintetsu train to the Kintetsu Nara Station, a few minutes walk from Nara Park’s northwest side.
For more great sights in Nara, including the places mentioned above, please watch the Nara Playlist:
For more great sights in the Kansai Region, please watch the Kansai Playlist:
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AloJapan.com