What’s
not to love about Nara? Everything about it exudes calmness – even the deer
that would sometimes chase you for the famous shika sembei biscuit. Japan’s efficient railway services make it
easy to reach Nara from Kyoto and Osaka.
We
decided to use the Kintetsu train service because from its station, Nara Park
is a mere 10-minute walk. For those who will use Japan Railways (JR), it takes
about 20 minutes to reach the park from the JR Nara Station. If you have your
luggage with you, don’t worry because Japan’s major stations are equipped with
coin lockers.
Nara
Park is famous for its free roaming deer! The park has more than a thousand of
these. They are the city’s symbol because in Shinto, it is believed that they the
gods’ messengers. Most of them are gentle but there are clever folks as well.
They will poke at you or look into your bag for biscuits.
Isn’t it
interesting how these creatures do not go after the biscuit sellers? They can
easily knock over the carts but they never do it. Perhaps they have a covert deal
with the sellers. “Okay oba, I promise
to stay put and look cute so that the tourists will buy more of your biscuits.”
It was
drizzling that morning and the grounds were muddy but these did not stop us from
playing with them.
You may
also visit Nara’s other attractions like the Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Kofukuji Temple,
and Todaiji Temple. You may drop by
an earthquake museum offering free cups of tea.
