Come with me for an adventure to Nara for the second time. I loved it so much the first time I simply had to go back. You can read my previous blog post about Nara here. This time Lani and Blake joined me for the day to meet the deers.
Getting to Nara from Osaka
To get to Nara from Osaka we used our JR Pass to catch the Yamatoji Line. It takes around 50 min if you are catching the express line. I highly recommend getting a JR Pass for your time in Japan especially if you are travelling between Tokyo and Osaka. Plan your travel days within the designated time to get the most out of your pass.
Hello mr snake
Nara is famous for its many shrines and temples, many of which date back to the 8th century when Nara was Japan’s first permanent capital. Eight locations are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The unique Nara park is part of Kasuga Taisha Shrine, which worships Takemi Kajichi no Mikoto. This deity is believed to have ridden a scared deer from Kashima Shrine in Ibaraki Prefecture to Nara. This legend made deer in Nara sacred and protected beings. To this day they are designated as ‘natural monuments’.
Have you ever seen four, count em FOUR pugs in a pram! Just when I thought I couldn’t love Japan more.
As you can see the deer really are everywhere. It’s their land and we are just passing through. Please be respectful when you come to Nara. The deer are very passive and used to people but they still deserve respect. If you are taking photos with them and they start to get annoyed, give them their space and let them be. You can buy biscuits to feed the deer but beware, you may get headbutted.
You can hire kimonos and get dressed head to toe in a traditional outfit while you explore the temples but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are from this culture. It is beautiful to see but a but jarring seeing tourists wearing them.
These deer truly are just awe inspiring. To give them pats or biscuits always make sure you bow first, they will bow back. You can see this one is bowing to me. It is the absolute cutest.
If you are lucky you may even run into some baby deer depending on what season you visit.
This is hands down one of my favourite experiences in Japan, it really just is unbeatable being able to walk through beautiful parks and shrines whilst being in the presence of these spirit animals. Hanging out and just enjoying their company.
Caught this dude having a munch on a map.
The deer may chase you, if you are in any way afraid of animals I probably wouldn’t add this amazing place to your bucket list.
There are a number of truly beautiful shrines that you can visit and even just stumble upon during your adventures in Nara. This is the Kasuga Taisha Shrine that I mentioned previously. You can’t miss it, big, orange, stunning!
Location: 160 Kasuganocho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture 630-8212, Japan
I understand there being antlers in the gift store as these naturally fall off but it was a bit sad seeing the mounted head on the wall.
Another fun fact is that the deer here know how to cross the street, which I just think is really neat.
Todai-ji Nandaimon (Grand South Gate)
406-1 Zoshicho, Nara, 630-8211, Japan
Todai-ji
Todaiji temple, "Eastern Great Temple") is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples. The Great Buddha Hall (大仏殿 Daibutsuden) houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese as Daibutsu.
Todai-ji Daibutsuden (Great Buddha Hall)
406-1 Zoshicho, Nara, 630-8587, Japan
Nara Todaji Nakamon Helm Statue of Kabuto Bishamon
The main role of torii gates is to distinguish the sacred shrine grounds from the human world. They serve as a boundary which separates the sacred space from the mundane world where humans live. Once you walk across the torii gate, it means that you have entered the sacred, special space.
You better believe I got that matcha soft serve.
A little thing I really love to do while travelling is to ‘take a moment’. Whenever I find a special place I sit and take in every sound, scent, feel, sight and just really absorb my surroundings in that special moment in time. Sometimes I will do a short meditation focusing on visualisation so I can always revisit these places. For instance I did this at the Grand Canyon when I went alone past the donkeys to watch the sunrise over the canyon. I had my ‘take a moment’ moment there and still can remember every single part of that experience. You can also read about it on this blog post. This was my special spot in Nara.
This schoolgirl asked to take a photo with me for a school project.
After a big day of meeting deer, lots of bowing, feeding biscuits, visiting shrines and exploring the beautiful natural landscape of Nara we headed back to the station and used our JR Rail Pass to get back to Osaka station.
Lani and I went out to a miscellaneous little hole in the wall spot for a really filling and inexpensive Japanese meal. I got my absolute favourite Unagi (eel) and the set came with miso, tofu and some fruit. After this amazing meal we went home and completely crashed after a solid 20,000 + step day.
Tomorrow I am re-visiting another favourite place of mine in Japan for a day trip, Kyoto. See you in the next post!
