Nara – Sacred Wild Deer

Nara Park is located in the city of Nara Japan and it is one of the most unusual parks that I have ever visited.  The park was established in 1880 and is home to 1,200 wild Sika Deer.  What makes it unusual is that the deer roam freely around the park and they are completely tame.  The deer are considered sacred and special to the Gods.  If you tried to kill one of these deer you could be put to death – well at least that was the case up until 1637 when the last execution took place for killing one of the deer.  That would explain why these deer are so incredibly tame.

There are three temples in the area and the deer roam around these temples freely being fed crackers by all of the tourist.  You can purchase crackers for the deer for about $2 for every package of 10 crackers.  Kids are all over this park running and feeding the deers.  It is a great place to go.

You can get to the Nara National Park by taking the train from Kyoto Station.  It is about $10 and takes about 1 hour to get there.   Between the deer and the beautiful temples it is the #1 day trip to do from Kyoto Japan.

http://www.frankiefoto.com/Travel/Nara-Japan/24001277_xvCWVP