Japan Photo Guide

Covering about 525 acres, Nara Park is the largest municipal park in Japan and includes many of Nara‘s famous attractions, including Todaiji, Kokufuji, Kasuga Taisha, and oh yeah, about 1200 (sort of) wild deer. I recommend just wondering around Nara Park and finding your ow nice little spot, as there are plenty of them. Of course, the best time to go would be either during cherry blossom season or fall but anytime of the year is fairly nice.

A little information about the deer; for the most part the deer are really well behaved (some even seem to bow after or before you feed them–really I promise!) and pose no threat to you but there are some things to take caution about:

• • Avoid deer with antlers–there is a festival in October where the deers get their antlers cut off, but there are still some that do have them (as you can see in the photo below I did not follow my own advice but I do not recommend approaching deers with antlers). Obviously you do not want to get rammed by a deer but even more so by a deer that has sharp and hard antlers.
  • Do not make sudden movements–not only will this make the deer uneasy and maybe run away, but you also might anger another person who is trying to take a photo of the deer (this happened to me a couple of times and I was not too happy about losing my subject!)
  • Be aware of baby deer–if there is a baby there are likely to be parents close by and nothing angers a parent more than if the parent feels their child is in danger!

The deer are really used to visitors and a lot of times will pose nicely with you. If they find out you have food to give them they will follow you around for a little bit and sometimes call their friends over. Also, I was somewhat surprised at the whining sounds deers make. Check out the video of the deer to hear it.

Want to see more photos of Nara Park? Take a look at the gallery to see more photos of Nara Park!