Did you ever watch Bambi or Snow White? Remember those cute little deer that seem like a fairytale? Well I’m here to tell you they exist 🤩 well they are more friendly than most whitetail deer in America.
During our trip to Osaka we decided to make a quick jaunt over to this famous little town called Nara (about 36 mins by train). Nara is famous for their sacred deer. Yes, they are considered messengers to the Shinto Gods (shintoism basically makes a god for everything).
In fact, until 1637 if you killed a sika deer you were executed (by decapitation). Good thing they did not have cars in 1637 and I didn’t visit because me + driving would not be good for these cute little fellas. Now the only punishment for killing one is prison time.
Ok, tangent done and back to our adventures. We arrived in Nara and walked about 5 mins and we were looking for a place called “Nara Deer Park”. I would tell Jessa be on lookout for a little area with some deer. Expecting it to be similar to the Kyoto monkey park, we assumed there would be around 100 deer or so.
HERE IS WHERE THE OH DEER PART COMES INTO PLAY. Our first encounter was by the entrance to this park, and there were 50 deer swarming the entrance. Next to the entrance you could buy some deer crackers (rice, wheat, maybe a little cocaine or something to get these deer hooked) for 200 yen. As soon as the workers handed you the crackers deers rushed to you. These deer were so soft and even the antlers were fuzzy and felt like felt (no pun intended). Maybe I should become a stand up comedian!
I was very excited once I had these crackers and deer coming up to me, and immediately stepped in a big pile of Deer doo-doo 😒 OH well, I was happy. We made it past the entrance and into the actual park.
We had about 10 deer come up to us and start nudging us for food. We fed them, but apparently not fast enough! One bit me (gently) on my arse. I look over and Jessa is running and hollering as 3 to 5 deer are chasing her and pulling at her clothes and nudging her with their antlers.
We realized that I had gone overboard buying crackers and had to put one of the cracker packs in my pocket to attract less deer. Things had finally calmed down the further we got to the park. I could finally have some fun!
I was doing all sorts of silly things, putting crackers on my head, sitting down so the deer would get a cute Pic with me, and petting them. I felt like a Disney princess probably more than Jessa. (THIS DOES NOT TAKE AWAY MY MANCARD YOU HAD TO BE THERE TO EXPERIENCE IT)… then I remembered something 🙄 My dad had always told me do NOT pet a deer if you get up close to one.
These sika deer are wild, and deer in the wild carry this little rude critter called a tick. Ticks carry a rude little disease called Lyme and not the kind of lime you put on a yummy taco 🤢
Immediately, I realized I had forgotten to use any sort of insect repellant, so we booked it to the main road out of the park 😂 Guess my risk tolerance decreased once I turned 30.
I mean it was worth it to take some fun photos and feel like Doctor Dolittle, but after 45 mins of it, we were ready to check out other parts of Nara… like the nearest 7-11 to get some insect repellent.
One problem, everything was in Japanese, after some googling translating I think I found some bug spray and we used it liberally. Now we smelled like me back in 2010 at Boy Scout Camp. Ah the memories of putting up the green wall tents and hiking while singing classic tunes filled my head.
OK, we didn’t come all this way to just feed deer and go home, so we decided to head to this super old temple called Todaji Temple. This temple was constructed in 745 and one of the most powerful monasteries in Japan during the Nara period.
I let out a sigh of relief, yay we passed the deer park, and don’t have to worry about ticks or any other weird diseases. Then guess who was standing in my path in the middle of the street 😒 Bambis second cousin twice removed… Cletus! Cletus was staring me down ready for a cracker. Then next to Cletus was another deer and another.
These deer were not just confined to a small park. THEY OWNED THIS TOWN 😬 And how was I,the most empathetic compassionate soul, supposed to avoid their cuteness and cuddliness any longer. The temple was pretty cool but walking through a town with thousands of wild deer roaming not afraid to walk up next to you is even cooler.
We finished our day with some Teppanyaki (true hibachi) and had some wonderful Waygu steak!
I write this post as we sit at the Doctor’s office waiting for our prescriptions of anti Lyme disease medicine. Good thing we have travelers insurance 🤗 NEXT TIME, I will put on a beekeeper suit before petting the deer!
Well… we just saw the doctor.. Luckily Lyme disease is very rare in Japan, but now we know! Gonna miss you Bambi.
