Nara Park & the Deer

奈良公園

Hold up a pack of crackers and the deer queue up to bow

⚠ Feed deer crackers only

Hours

Park open at all times

Tickets

Park free; deer crackers about ¥200 a bundle (check on site)

Address

Kasugano-cho, Nara (Nara Park)

Step into the park and the deer find you first. The moment you buy a stack of shika-senbei from a roadside stall, three or four of them close in, nodding their heads. That bob means "hand it over", and if you bow first some will bow back. Hesitate with crackers in hand, though, and they'll tug your clothes or butt you from behind, so hand them out one at a time, quickly, and show empty palms when you're done. The deer are a protected natural monument, and seeing them sprawled on the lawns is the moment Nara feels real.