Jaunted

Japan

Nara, A Town Deer to Our Hearts

July 18, 2006 at 1:51 AM | 0 Comments

After you reach a particular saturation level of sushi eating, you'll find yourself dying to immerse yourself in that überculture which is Japan. All the whistle-stop tours of Japan get you to the big three cities: Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima, but right nearby are so many other attractions just waiting to grab you, sometimes quite literally.

The 1,000 plus deer of Nara Park in the city of Nara, one of Japan's ancient capitals, are friendly to a point. If you've got something worth eating--or sometimes just something that looks potentially tasty, like a tourist map--that's when they grab you. Gently, of course, because they're sacred deer who are taken care of by a host of volunteer members of the Nara Park deer society.

Special cookies are on sale around the park--but, unfortunately, the lack of English signs sometimes means the odd tourist makes the mistake of snacking on these tasteless morsels themselves. Beware of this, and making too many bad "oh dear" jokes to your travelmates, and your visit to Nara Park will be a pleasure.

[Image via sunbound/Flickr]

Related stories:
Japan: Hands Off the Melons [Jaunted]
Nara Number One [The Age]