Rewind: Where We Were a Year Ago (Nara, Japan)

August 30, 2010
Nara, Japan

An Understatement.

We had heard about the deer city of Nara before we even left for the trip, and other travelers we met on the road raved about it as well. The above sign, however, should have had approximately two million deer on it…not just one.

After a leisurely walk through the bigger-than-expected town, we were a bit disappointed that we hadn’t seen any deer yet. We approached the massive park, and then we spotted them:

They hang around in groups like a lazy gang and wait for silly tourists to feed them biscuits. Some deer even bow to their generous cookie-givers before greedily snatching up the food. We saw this practice but unfortunately did not get it on video. (It’s easily found on YouTube. Do the work yourself, and find a short video. Booyah.)

Friendly Guy.

These deer didn’t mess around; they were hungry. They did whatever it took to grab some food and would rush over the second they smelled it:

At first the deer can be a bit off-putting. Some of them are quite large and grizzly-looking, but the majority of them seem harmless. Hey, at least they weren’t monkeys…

Hanna: Botched Camping

I have only been camping a couple of times in my life. The trips with my family always involved me sleeping in my family’s van instead of outside. One time I got so scared of a windstorm outside that I threw up my spaghetti dinner all over the car. Let’s just say I am not the most experienced outdoorswoman.

Our first night of camping at a proper campground in Kaikoura went just fine. When we arrived to Geraldine the next day, we headed to the information center to ask where there were free camping sites. We were told to drive about fifteen minutes out of town…there we would find a series of three free sites. The pavement quickly turned into a narrow gravel road, but we finally arrived at the site. There was one other campervan set up but nothing else. (Well, nothing besides two gross, smelly outhouses.) We were far away from civilization….safe but far away.

After setting up our tent and eating a sandwich from Subway, we settled in to go to bed. It was around 10pm, and everything was going okay. I was a bit wary of the lack of people but tried to tell myself everything would be fine. Around midnight I woke up to rustling outside of our tent. I flipped our flashlight on and tried to scare away whatever was lurking outside. The rustling continued, and I woke Mike up. He said it was probably a deer and that it was fine.

I, however, was not fine. Scared shitless, I told Mike that I didn’t want to be there and that I would rather sleep in our car in town. Keep in mind that it was now almost 1am. Being the wonderful husband that he is, he let me run into the car while he tore down the tent and threw all of our stuff in the trunk. We carefully drove the twentyish minutes back into town and found a friendly-looking parking lot to call home for the night. We parked next to a camper van, curled up in the front seats, and finally fell asleep.

We woke up the next morning and then noticed the sign that said “No Overnight Parking.” Whoops. We made our way over to the public bathroom where Mike proceeded to brush his teeth and wash his face while confused tourists stared at him. Hoboes…we are truly hoboes.

Lesson learned: I do not like sleeping in free campsites that are in the middle of the woods. We camped in the backyards of hostels the following two nights.

By the way…we never saw the menacing deer.

Hanna, Frank, Our Car Bluebird, and No Deer.

Deer City, Deer Deer City

A few days ago, we made the 45-minute train trek to the town of Nara. It’s famous for two things: its huge Buddha and its wild deer. Let’s start with Buddha.

Todaiji Temple not only has the the largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, but it is the largest wooden structure in the world. It was truly amazing, and we’re glad that we actually ponied up the admission fee. (Hey, there are tons of temples in the Kyoto area, so we had to pick and choose. We chose well on this one.)

Temple Gate. Notice the Deer. We’ll Get to That.

Todaiji.

Fifty Feet Tall.

Not the Same Buddha as Above…But Still Massive.

A Supporting Post of the Temple Has a Hole Through It. If You Can Crawl Through, You Will Reach Enlightenment in the Next Life. Mike’s Good to Go. Hanna Didn’t Try.

While the temple complex is extremely impressive, the deer made the day. We had heard about the wild deer that roam throughout the park, but we had no idea how many there would be. We probably saw about 100 deer on our walk. They just sit in the sidewalk waiting for someone to feed them. Vendors sell packs of deer biscuits, so the deer know where the best places to hang out are.

Warning: Deer Can Hurt You.

Deer Friend.

Bambi.

Not Coffee Beans.

Attacking a Shopper.

Creeper.

Secret Shopper.

Mike’s New Friend (Sentokun, the Mascot of Nara).

‘Twas a great day, and we’re super glad that we got off of our asses and went.