12 Tips when visiting Nara in Japan
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| Nara - famous for its wild Deer |
Here are my top tips for visiting
Nara:
1. Visit
the Deer Park in the morning.
The Park is free to visit. It’s a big park, a few kilometres square. There are lots of places you can sit under a tree and watch the Deer. The park is only a 15 minute walk from the JR train station and there are over 1300 wild (but super friendly) Deer. If you visit in the morning the Deer are still hungry (apparently in the afternoon they are not as interested in the deer biscuits!).
The Park is free to visit. It’s a big park, a few kilometres square. There are lots of places you can sit under a tree and watch the Deer. The park is only a 15 minute walk from the JR train station and there are over 1300 wild (but super friendly) Deer. If you visit in the morning the Deer are still hungry (apparently in the afternoon they are not as interested in the deer biscuits!).
The Deer are sacred animals in
Japan and have been protected since ancient times. They are considered the
Messengers of the Gods. According to legend, a god came to Nara riding on the
back of one. The type of deer found here is called the sika deer or spotted
deer (Cervus nippon) which is native to most of eastern Asia and is a smaller
sized Deer. The people of Nara have been looking after the Deer here for the
last 1300 years! Currently the Government of Japan oversee the protection of
the Deer.
2.
The Deer are essentially wild animals – be careful not to get bitten
The Deer are essentially wild animals. They can and do bite if they think you have food that is unseen (say in your back pocket). There are warning signs in the park which pre-warn tourists that the Deers might bite or kick them. Don’t step backwards accidentally on to a Deer for instance.
The Deer are essentially wild animals. They can and do bite if they think you have food that is unseen (say in your back pocket). There are warning signs in the park which pre-warn tourists that the Deers might bite or kick them. Don’t step backwards accidentally on to a Deer for instance.
However, 99% of the deer are
extremely gentle and friendly. They are fine with kids in general. Very young
kids I would be careful to watch though so they don’t get accidentally bitten.
I have also heard that whilst it’s
ok to pat the Deer – they can have ticks! So don’t lie down with them! And wash
your hands afterwards. The public restrooms don’t always have soap so make sure
you take some hand sanitiser with you.
3.
You can feed the Deer special Deer Crackers
You can feed the Deer special Crackers – they will even bow for them (!) if you hold the cracker out for them. Deer Crackers (shika senbei) sell for 150Y at all the food stalls so there is no need to worry about getting them cheaper elsewhere. The Crackers are made from wheat flour and rice bran. Purchasing Deer Crackers helps support the protection of the Deer.
4.
Hide your Deer Crackers immediately after purchasing
At the Deer park buy your Deer Crackers, but immediately after doing so – hide them in your pockets or bag (discreetly). I watched many people buy the deer crackers – only to be within a few seconds, all the crackers gobbled up by the Deer. Show an empty hand and the Deer will give you some space. When you are ready, only then take the Deer crackers out.
You can feed the Deer special Crackers – they will even bow for them (!) if you hold the cracker out for them. Deer Crackers (shika senbei) sell for 150Y at all the food stalls so there is no need to worry about getting them cheaper elsewhere. The Crackers are made from wheat flour and rice bran. Purchasing Deer Crackers helps support the protection of the Deer.
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| Where you buy the Deer Crackers from |
At the Deer park buy your Deer Crackers, but immediately after doing so – hide them in your pockets or bag (discreetly). I watched many people buy the deer crackers – only to be within a few seconds, all the crackers gobbled up by the Deer. Show an empty hand and the Deer will give you some space. When you are ready, only then take the Deer crackers out.
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| Hide your Deer crackers! |
5.
Do not feed the Deer other food and be careful of your bags
There have been an increasing
number of Deer deaths due to eating plastics and other materials. Please do not
let them eat anything but the Deer crackers.
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| Watch your bags! |
6.
Visit the Nara Visitor Centre
Be sure to visit the Nara Visitor Centre and Inn (walk towards the Deer park and its to the right of the Deer Park, near the lake). The Visitor centre has free classes on Origami and Calligraphy and you can dress up in Kimonos for fun. Yes we made an Origami Deer! It’s primarily aimed at kids, but there is an information centre there too and the staff speak English and are extremely helpful. They also have a tea ceremony here on select days (you need to pay for that though). It is also air conditioned.
Be sure to visit the Nara Visitor Centre and Inn (walk towards the Deer park and its to the right of the Deer Park, near the lake). The Visitor centre has free classes on Origami and Calligraphy and you can dress up in Kimonos for fun. Yes we made an Origami Deer! It’s primarily aimed at kids, but there is an information centre there too and the staff speak English and are extremely helpful. They also have a tea ceremony here on select days (you need to pay for that though). It is also air conditioned.
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| This is the Nara Visitor Centre and Inn |
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| Learn to make Deer Origami for free! This makes a nice souvenir of your trip |
7.
Visit the Buddhist Art Museum inside the Deer Park grounds
There is a Buddhist Art Museum inside the Deer Park. We didn’t actually go in here, but there is plenty of signage advertising a visit to this place. If you are into Buddhist Art – you will want to visit here.
There is a Buddhist Art Museum inside the Deer Park. We didn’t actually go in here, but there is plenty of signage advertising a visit to this place. If you are into Buddhist Art – you will want to visit here.
8.
Pass through Nandaimon Gate on the way to Todai-ji Temple
Nandaimon (Great Southern Gate)
is the main entrance to the Todai-ji Temple. The structure was completed in
1203. The gate features two fierce looking Nio Guardian statues. The statues are
8.5 metres tall.
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| Nandaimon Gate |
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| One of the Nio Guardian statues |
9.
Visit the Todaji temple.
One of the drawcards of Nara are the
extremely old temples. Tojaji temple was constructed in 752. The main hall, the
Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall) is
the world's largest wooden building and houses one of Japan's largest bronze
statues of Buddha (15 metres tall). It was 1000 Yen each to enter this temple
so we only went to the outside and had a look as far as we could. There is also
a nearby Museum.
Outside Todaji there are some
beautiful gardens, koi ponds and plenty of deer!
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| Outside Tojaji temple |
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| Tojaji temple |
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| Lake outside Tojaji temple |
10.
See some Pagoda
The five storied Pagoda inside
Nara park was constructed by the Empress Komyoh in 730. The current building is
a restoration completed in 1426 and stands at just over 50 metres. It is the
second highest Pagoda in Japan.
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| Pagoda inside Nara Park |
11.
Baby Deer
Baby Deer can be found in a
fenced area called the Roku-en. This is where pregnant does have a safe place
to give birth and really young deer are kept there until they are old enough to
venture out to the Deer Park. Fawns can be seen about Mid-July.
12.
Want to see more Deer in Japan?
Miyajima Island (in Hiroshima
Bay) has more Deer that are also wild but tame. The difference here is that Miyajima
actively discourages feeding the Deer. I also found the Deer on the island
looked a bit more ‘rugged’ and unkempt. Maybe just a bit more wild perhaps?
Particularly if they weren’t being hand fed.
Overview
Nara is a great place to visit
and a ‘relaxing day’ in Japan. It was my daughter’s favourite part to our Japan
visit. We also enjoyed seeing more Cherry blossoms here too which were nice. The
Deer are quiet animals and it was a bit of a novelty for us to see them just
‘everywhere’ and not fenced in. You will find their droppings in the
backstreets of roads around Nara. The Deer don’t just stay in the Park. Some do
wander around the streets too.
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| We went during Cherry Blossom Season |
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| Himuro Jinja Shrine |
There were also quite a lot of
shopping malls around Nara JR train station, so a great place to do some last
minute shopping too. I highly recommend a visit to
Nara.
I hope
you enjoyed reading about my tips for visiting Nara. If you would like to
comment please do so in Comments as I would love to hear about your experiences
and or feedback.
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next week,
KJ
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KJ
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