Nara Favorites

Favorite thing: If you buy the deer crackers to feed the deer around Kasuga Taisha Shrine Jin'en Park then be aware that they will be with you forever. The deer are extremely tame and once you feed one you'll have a herd within seconds.
That being said, it makes for a fun photo opportunity!

Fondest memory: So many wonderful sights to see, feeding the deer can be a bit of light relief... guys, just be careful if they start to nudge you... we saw quite a few guys doubled over after a deer decided to get their feeders attention with a quick nudge to the mid-section.

Favorite thing: Oh no, another VT Nara page with deer puns! Yet all tourists leave Nara with a warm recollection of the friendly deer that roam freely through Nara Park and on the grounds of Kasuga Shrine.
The temptation to combine "dear" and "deer' into one sentence is almost as strong as the temptation to feed the deer that sour plum rice ball that you've been carrying around in your pocket since Osaka.
Special deer sembei (Japanese crackers) are sold by attendants to ensure that proper nutrition is given by the herds of tourists who visit Nara Park and Kasuga Shrine.

Fondest memory: I put a deer sembei in my mouth, not so much to taste it for myself but rather to pose for a photo offering it to the most docile deer I could find. The resulting exhibition was the talk of the town as Japanese schoolgirls covered their mouths in a collective giggle and pointed to the strange foreigner ("hen na gaijin").

Favorite thing: One of the many Shinto gates in Nara. The mixing of Buddhism and Shinto is an interesting characteristic of Japanese religion. Buddhism tells you to rely on yourself, while Shinto gives you a god to pray to when things get bad.

Favorite thing: One of the landmarks in the old Nara is the five-storey pagoda, part of the Kofuku-Ji temple complex.
Kofuku-Ji was founded in 669 AD by a member of the Fujiwara clan, and was moved to its present location in 710 when Nara became the new capital city
Even after the capital moved to Edo (Tokyo) later that century, Nara flourished for nearly 400 years, until the Fujiwara name waned, and the temple's powerful patrons left.
Today, only a handful of buildings are left from the period, but there is a good collection of statues inbside the Tokon-do and Kokuhokan buildings.

Fondest memory: See my travelogues for more on Nara.

Favorite thing: We arrived at JR Nara station and obtained a map at the small tourist information booth at the station. Cross the road to start your walk. Have a leisure and interesting walk along Sanjo-dori, passing by many shops and hotels.
To be continued...

Favorite thing: Go to the 'Todaiji'-temple to see the great 'Daibatsu'. The statue, as well as the wooden! building are of amazing proportions. You can enjoy the hall from the park in front of it.

Fondest memory: The complete surprise my friend got when entering the hall. Slowly her eyes were rising upwards, following the contours of the 'Daitbatsu'. It was a very funny sight to see the amazement in her eyes.

Favorite thing: Visit TODAI-JI TEMPLE: Star attraction of Nara. Todai-ji is the largest wooden temple in the world (!) & houses the GREAT BUDDHA, one of the largest bronze images in the world as well.

Favorite thing: Definitely visit NARA-KOEN PARK: This park is home to about 1200 deer which the Japanese considered national treasures! In the olden times, the deers were considered messenger of gods!!!


Fondest memory: Feeding shikasembei (biscuits costing 100 Yen) can be real fun. The deers are very cute but are also spoilt rotten! Make sure you don't eat the biscuit yourself, LOL!