Sean has his top 3. I have my top 3. Nara Park (or Nara Kōen) with its wild sika deer was on both of our lists. So a Nara day trip from Osaka was a must.
Nara Park is one of the oldest, public parks in Japan. It’s also home to over 1,200 free-roaming sika deer, so you won’t need to go very far or in search of them. They’re everywhere!
The sika deer are considered sacred beings and designated as a national natural treasure. The deer are so revered by residents, drivers even patiently stop to let sika deer pass on the street!
The biggest reason visitors come to see the sika deer is three-fold: that you can feed them, that they will bow for food, and that they’re so dang cute!
Special deer crackers, or shika senbei, are sold by vendors scattered around the park. The crackers are sold in bundles of 10 for approximately 150 yen. Between Sean and myself, we spent a small fortune on feeding the sika deer. (Take all my money!) It was totally worth to be engaging with them. This would never happen at home.
It was amusing to me to see a couple of sika deer hang around one of those vendors in hopes of getting shika senbei, but being completely ignored. Obviously, the vendor can resist the big doe eyes, whereas I would probably empty my cart and give them all my rice crackers.
Sika deer seems to have some kind of radar. They know who has crackers and will not be shy about approaching for some tasty treats. It’s best to keep them hidden from sight until you’re ready to hand out. And when they see one of their own get fed, many others will follow. I got pleasantly swarmed a couple of times and my bundle of shika senbei lasted all about a few seconds.
When you run out of shika senbei (for the moment!), put both your palms up to show the deer that you don’t have anymore or they will continue to follow or press you for crackers. If they feel that you’re not giving up them crackers, even when they bow for them, the deer can and will nip you. I got nipped (not hard and no broken skin) on the hand and on my butt from an impatient sika deer. So did Sean.
As adorable as all the sika deer are, they can also be little rascals. Although accustomed to people, they are still wild animals and can act unpredictably. There are signs warning visitors to be careful, as they can occasionally attack people by biting, kicking, head-butting or knocking them off their feet.
Little kids should be accompanied by adults, visitors should watch out for their belongings, foods other than shika-senbei are hazardous to the deer, and by gosh, don’t withhold snacks, tease the deer or refuse them a snack after they offer a proper bow.
Bonus! Nara Park is lined with over 1,700 cherry blossom trees! Sika deer and cherry blossoms – what more can I ask for?
There’s a ton more to see and do at this Unesco world heritage site, but we were on a tight timeline (this entire trip) and also needed to head back to Osaka and make our train back to Tokyo. Unfortunately, we’re not able to do it all and Nara is a place I would definitely explore more next time we’re in Japan.
Pro-tip: the train from Osaka to Nara takes about 45 minutes. Here’s the kicker: there are 2 stations in Nara. The Kintetsu line rapid express train will arrive at Kintetsu Nara station, just a short 10 minutes walk away from the park. If you opt for the standard JR line, the JR Nara station is a bit further, but you can always jump into a cab for a quick ride to the park.
View more photos of Nara and Japan on my Flickr albums.
Address:
Nara, 630-8211, Japan
GPS coordinates: 34.685312, 135.843007
1 Comment
So great, I loved this.
Such beautiful deer…