MORE JAPAN TRAVEL:
HOW TO SPEND 10 DAYS IN JAPAN | TOKYO | HAKONE | KYOTO | KOBE | HIMEJI | OSAKA | SENDAI | MATSUSHIMA
One of Japan’s ancient capitals, Nara, is now famous for its illustrious temples and friendly deer. If you are already visiting Kyoto or the Kansai region, it’s worth a stop for temple-hopping through the park and meeting the wildlife along the way.
We spent a half day in Nara before hitting up the nightlife and eats in nearby Osaka. If you have a JR pass, the JR Nara Line can whisk you there from Kyoto in just 45 minutes.
Getting to Nara Park
The JR station is about a 30-minute walk from the heart of the park, but you’ll be entertained along the way by shopping, food and some early deer and temple sightings. I couldn’t resist stopping for some chocolate-stuffed taiyaki, which we enjoyed on a seat beside Sarusawa Pond. If you are here and see a stray Olympus lens cap, that’s mine. It popped off somewhere around the area and I became very familiar with the ground around the Kofuku-ji Temple complex.
Feeding the Deer
We walked past the Nara National Museum to enter the park, and excitedly purchased crackers to feed the first roaming band of deer we saw. You’ll find stands along the way with a bundle for a hundred yen and some change. My tip: Don’t feed the first deer you see. Aggressive and pushy, they felt entitled to everything on our bodies: The crackers, my bag, our coats around our waist, the handle of a protruding umbrella. It was fun and lots of deer snot came away with us, but as we delved deeper into the park and saw more polite and reserved deer, I wish I had a few nibbles left for a less hectic interaction.
Many of Nara’s deer, once considered divine and now protected as national treasures, will bow for a cracker reward. Hold the cracker up visibly and you’ll be honored with a head bow (or two, or three, depending on their insistence).
It may seem obvious, but don’t pet them. (Ever heard of hand foot mouth disease?)
Kasuga-taisha
We had set aside time for two temples: Kasuga-taisha to the southeast, and the venerable Todai-ji toward the north side of the park. The walk to Kasuga shrine takes you through a forest of hundreds of stone lanterns, draped with moss and navigated by the occasional deer. I loved the thick tree roots snaking around the grounds, and an old wisteria wound on a trellis, just starting to bloom for the spring.
Todai-ji
The world’s largest wooden building until the late ’90s, Todai-ji, is a sight to behold as you walk through the outer gates. The Buddhist temple complex was rebuilt twice after fires and houses a massive bronze cast of the Great Buddha. The crowds will circumnavigate you through the interior hall, where you can admire other Buddhist statues – still dwarfed by the centerpiece – and watch (or participate) in a strange ritual: wriggling through a small hole in one of the temple’s wooden pillars. The Buddha’s “nostril” is said to grant a bit of enlightenment to those who can fit through. As I watched Japanese school kids squeeze in, I figured my first time through as a skinny teenager on a past trip was enough enlightenment for one life.
A full day in Nara permits time for museums and temples, but even with a half-day, I enjoyed feeding the deer, a snack, a beautiful walk in the park, admiring temples and souvenir shopping (be ready for adorable deer-shaped everything).