Visit the Wild Roaming Deer at Nara Park
Nara Park is a World Cultural Heritage Site and a short 45 minute train ride from Kyoto. It's one of the oldest parks in Japan and is known for it's wild wandering deer that roam free on the 1,240 acres. The deer are considered in Shinto to be messengers of the gods, and therefore they are protected and flourish inside the park.
Info
Entrance to Nara Park is free, but some of the temples and shrines you’ll have to pay to get into
You can purchase deer crackers to feed the deer. Some are sweet and timid, and some are insanely aggressive! Beware, a few head bunted me, and I've read that some tourists have been injured.
Note: The deer crackers you purchase are made from wheat flour and rice bran, making them completely safe to feed the roaming deer. Also, a portion of their profits goes to efforts to protect the deer.
Todaiji Temple
Aside from the plethora of deer, there are also many temples in the park. You can get a map when you enter to navigate around all the sites. Todai-ji temple is a beautiful wooden structure, and the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha sits inside. The scale is tough to describe in words, it's enormous!
50 ft tall statue of Buddha
If you're in Kyoto, I recommend visiting this park as a day trip. Do you have any other recommendation for visiting Kyoto or Nara Deer Park? Please leave them in the comments below.
