Nara has long been on my list of must-go places in Japan; I love parks where wild animals are allowed to roam freely, and one of my fellow travel buddies was doubly enthusiastic.
A ride on the local JR line later, we found ourselves away from the hustle and bustle of Osaka and in the much quieter city of Nara, all the more quiet due to the early morning hours.
After thoroughly sunscreening ourselves against the late summer rays, we walked from Nara Station towards the park.
I sincerely love the streets of Japan. People often comment on the cleanliness of Canadian towns, but while both may be relatively devoid of garbage, the streets of Nara are, simply put, neat. Neat and tidy in every sense of the word.
We encountered our first deer just as we arrived at the entrance of the park, as a line of deer ran towards the entrance, and continued its way throughout the square.
Near Ukigumoenchi, we loaded up on the rice crackers to entice the deer; turns out, they didn't need much enticing. As soon as we approached the cart selling the crackers, a couple of hungry deer showed up to observe the transaction.
After a lot of shirt-chewing, bag-pulled, and even a nip to the buttocks, we decided to cross the street and go further into the park.
Tips on feeding deer: feed deer who are by themselves, or not in large groups. Feeding near large groups may get you mauled. Throw your (empty) hands up in the air to show the deer you have no more crackers, even if you do have more crackers. I use this same trick with my dog, and then later found out it was also posted on "deer feeding etiquette" signs throughout the park.
We made friends with a few of the deer resting under the gazebo; they were relatively calm at first and not looking to eat crackers, but once we whet their appetite, they came to life and started becoming nippy, so we decided it was time to change locations once again.
In Kasuganoenchi, Ranee got chased by a deer. I guess I was a good friend, because I only watched with my eyes to make sure she was okay, and my camera did not capture this amazing moment. Thankfully, another girl unwittingly lured her chasers away with some fresh crackers. Safe!
We finally decided to wash up and head up towards the mountain in search of sustenance.
At Mizuyachaya, we split a wild vegetable udon, and a dessert udon made of jelly. We all ordered our own tea sets, replete with with a bowl of bitter matcha and jellied sweet.
We ventured back outside after the rain cleared, and made our way towards Tōdai-ji.
The lighting, the scenery, and the wandering deer; I could hardly write out a more beautiful day.
Trust me to stumble upon this. From Yellowknife, to Auckland, and now Nara.
There were plenty of deer-themed items, including deer-shaped ema (絵馬), and many souvenir shops where I may or may not have purchased my fair share of mascot-covered items.
There were no shortage of deer near the temple, but they definitely were not as concentrated the further you got away from the entrance.
We were hot and sweaty and decided to get white peach ice cream cones; these were the same packaged ice cream that gets spun out into a cone - it had tasted a lot better during our last visit, when the idea was novel and my tastebuds were less spoiled.
On our way back to the station, we stumbled upon a mochi shop where they were about to pound the dough, as seen in many viral videos. Intrigued, we decided to watch before we bought a mochi each - I wish we bought more.
Back in Osaka, we headed to the castle to gaze upon its beauty from the exterior.
We decided to line up in a winding queue for Mizuno, then got a cheese tart at Pablo, and then settled in for a post-dessert dinner of udon at Tsurutontan Soemoncho.
A late night spent packing and calling a certain Canadian, before we passed out at an ungodly hour.
A ride on the local JR line later, we found ourselves away from the hustle and bustle of Osaka and in the much quieter city of Nara, all the more quiet due to the early morning hours.
After thoroughly sunscreening ourselves against the late summer rays, we walked from Nara Station towards the park.
I sincerely love the streets of Japan. People often comment on the cleanliness of Canadian towns, but while both may be relatively devoid of garbage, the streets of Nara are, simply put, neat. Neat and tidy in every sense of the word.
We encountered our first deer just as we arrived at the entrance of the park, as a line of deer ran towards the entrance, and continued its way throughout the square.
Near Ukigumoenchi, we loaded up on the rice crackers to entice the deer; turns out, they didn't need much enticing. As soon as we approached the cart selling the crackers, a couple of hungry deer showed up to observe the transaction.
After a lot of shirt-chewing, bag-pulled, and even a nip to the buttocks, we decided to cross the street and go further into the park.
Tips on feeding deer: feed deer who are by themselves, or not in large groups. Feeding near large groups may get you mauled. Throw your (empty) hands up in the air to show the deer you have no more crackers, even if you do have more crackers. I use this same trick with my dog, and then later found out it was also posted on "deer feeding etiquette" signs throughout the park.
We made friends with a few of the deer resting under the gazebo; they were relatively calm at first and not looking to eat crackers, but once we whet their appetite, they came to life and started becoming nippy, so we decided it was time to change locations once again.
In Kasuganoenchi, Ranee got chased by a deer. I guess I was a good friend, because I only watched with my eyes to make sure she was okay, and my camera did not capture this amazing moment. Thankfully, another girl unwittingly lured her chasers away with some fresh crackers. Safe!
We finally decided to wash up and head up towards the mountain in search of sustenance.
At Mizuyachaya, we split a wild vegetable udon, and a dessert udon made of jelly. We all ordered our own tea sets, replete with with a bowl of bitter matcha and jellied sweet.
We ventured back outside after the rain cleared, and made our way towards Tōdai-ji.
The lighting, the scenery, and the wandering deer; I could hardly write out a more beautiful day.
Trust me to stumble upon this. From Yellowknife, to Auckland, and now Nara.
There were plenty of deer-themed items, including deer-shaped ema (絵馬), and many souvenir shops where I may or may not have purchased my fair share of mascot-covered items.
There were no shortage of deer near the temple, but they definitely were not as concentrated the further you got away from the entrance.
We were hot and sweaty and decided to get white peach ice cream cones; these were the same packaged ice cream that gets spun out into a cone - it had tasted a lot better during our last visit, when the idea was novel and my tastebuds were less spoiled.
On our way back to the station, we stumbled upon a mochi shop where they were about to pound the dough, as seen in many viral videos. Intrigued, we decided to watch before we bought a mochi each - I wish we bought more.
Back in Osaka, we headed to the castle to gaze upon its beauty from the exterior.
We decided to line up in a winding queue for Mizuno, then got a cheese tart at Pablo, and then settled in for a post-dessert dinner of udon at Tsurutontan Soemoncho.
A late night spent packing and calling a certain Canadian, before we passed out at an ungodly hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment