the deer in nara have become so acclimated the to presence of humans that they're essentially tame. a charming little old lady was feeding this guy, and offered me some carrots and edamame to feed to him myself. like most people in japan, she was excessively nice - and one of the nice girls from the last picture offered to take a photo with me in it.
a final shot of shika-chan ('little deer'), up close and personal. at this point i figured my deer experience was fully satisfied. what more could you ask for than to hand feed a young, tame deer in a buddhist temple?
another shot of the five-storied pagoda and one of the main halls of kofukuji. you can see shika-chan getting even more attention in the lower right, along with the charming old lady with the food in the black skirt and white shirt.
another sneaky shot of a young japanese girl weilding the common frilly black parasol to protect her from the sun. i'm *so* getting kate one of those. :)
as i was leaving kofukuji temple, i saw this girl (wow, deer number three) trotting her way inside.
outside the kofukuji grounds, i spotted this little walkway, so i thought i'd take a peek at what was inside. what should i find...
...but another deer! this guy was rather stern-looking, and you can tell by his ruff that's he's no spring chicken. i thought it best to leave him be, though i did say hello and apologize for disturbing him. :)
a shot of some of the nice natural scenery around nara park.
i took this shot largely so i could remember the names of where i had been. the red rectangle in the center is the "you are here" marker, and you can see kofukuji and its pagodas to the west. notice the many bounding deer symbols on the map. there sure are a lot of them, huh? i'm about to find out why.
a charming little warning sign, asking visitors not to approach young deer, since it'll distress the mother. the bottom warning tells you to beware of both deer with and without horns because they can all get irate when harrassed, regardless of headgear.
another cute warning sign with clear meanings: don't throw your garbage on the ground, cuz the deer will eat it and get sick; and don't piss of the does or the bucks will get pissed off and mess you up. i love the puff of yellow anger rising from his little irate head!
ok. now i get it. now i see why nara is known for its deer. there are *herds* of 'em! roaming free! munching away on clover! totally unfrightened by humans! wow!
more deer! ump ump ump!
apparently nara park holds more than *1,000* tame deer! i had no idea!
this fatso was panting pretty hard. he musta had a hard day of eating clover and getting fawned over (did i just say that? *groan*).
yup. more deer.
this guy was excessively cute while cooling off in his little stream.
yeah...the deer pretty much do have free access to roam *everywhere*. and roam they do!
an up-close shot of a young buck.
i think this guy had one thing on his mind. and who can blame him, with that tail-twitching tease in front of him. ;)
devil deer of doom!
nice rack.
a very nice japanese family who were feeding the deer leaves from a high branch broke some off and gave me some to feed the deer myself. this girl umped them right up and i snapped her picture. she's winking at me from the bright flash.
a tranquil path leading around nara national museum (which i have not yet visited and was probably closed by this time).
another scene of tranquility.
wide-open grassy areas like this are quite rare in japan. ones with tame deer bouding about even moreso.
this not-so-little guy was very insistent on nursing from his mother. or maybe it wasn't his mother. either way she was happy to stand still and let him.
a small pond in nara park with yup, more deer in the distance.
they'll need a crane, they'll need a crane.
a straw-roofed structure of unknown purpose in nara park.
this is as far east as i went. the misty hills in the background were quite striking. and yeah, mo' deer!
there couldn't be a more appropriate warning sign and symbol for nara park. it (rather obviously) says 'be careful of deer jumping out'.
another shot of even yet another herd of deer, with more charming woody hills in the distance.
at this point i started to wander my way back, and noticed that the forest i was skirting was in fact bamboo. bamboo is some amazing stuff - it's actually a grass, and the world's biggest one at that.
another, closer shot of the bamboo forest. the sound of wind blowing through bamboo, with the rustling and creaking sound it makes, is unmistakable.
walking a ways, i soon stumbled onto sagi-ike pond, and the lovely ukimido hall that's perched at its center.
seconds before i took this picture of sagi pond, the evening lights came on. the symetry in the reflection is quite nice to behold, and japanese are historically quite fond of reflecting pools. i bet the moon and its reflection look gorgeous when viewed from inside ukimido hall.
a shot of the pathway leading to ukimido hall. i didn't want to disturb the people already inside, so i moved on after taking this.
a path leading up and away from sagi pond. it was at this exact moment that i realized just how lucky i am to be here; i even wished i were japanese, so that i could call this beauty and heritage truly my own.
omgz, guess what? more deer!
a very algae covered ara-ike pond, just a bit west of sagi pond.
an unknown structure outside ara pond, with some strange animal hanging around it. maybe a moose?
a beautifully illuminated shinto gate (torii), with more rickshaw drivers waiting for customers. the word 'torii' in japanese is great - it means nothing more than 'birds are here', which they almost always are. might as well go for the obvious!
the guy who lives in the home behind this wall must be a bajillionaire. literally. (not that bajillion is a literal word. but it should be.)
a final shot of the five-storied pagoda of kofukuji temple, seen from far below in early evening.
another shot of sarusawa pond. again, more lovely reflected symmetry.
and thus ends the middle part of my expedition to nara. this day was utterly amazing, from the temples to the deer to the arcades and everything in between. i can't wait to go back. and the total cost of the trip? $9 for a round trip train ride, $3 for a stuffed plush deer (i had to), and about $8 for sodas, snacks, and games... *easily* the best $20 i ever spent. :D