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Nara Park & the deer
Friendly (and pushy) sika deer wander freely. Buy crackers from the vendors and they bow for them.
Day trip from Kyoto
Quick facts
Japan's first permanent capital, 8th century. Hundreds of free-roaming sika deer bow for crackers in the park. An easy half-day or full-day trip from Kyoto.
Seeded from what we already wrote. We will add, cut and reorder.
Friendly (and pushy) sika deer wander freely. Buy crackers from the vendors and they bow for them.
A 15m bronze Buddha inside one of the world's largest wooden buildings. Genuinely awe-inspiring scale.
Thousands of stone and bronze lanterns lining the wooded path. Most atmospheric in late afternoon light.
A preserved merchant district: old wooden houses, sake shops, quiet streets away from the deer crowds.
Authentic local places we want to eat, and room for more.
Famous yomogi mochi and a high-speed mochi-pounding show. Look for the queue near Nara Park.
More →Persimmon-leaf pressed sushi, a centuries-old Nara way to keep fish inland. A good portable group lunch.
More →A loose plan, editable as we book things.
Train from Kyoto, into the park, crackers and bowing deer, the Great Buddha at Todai-ji.
The lantern path through the woods, lunch nearby.
Wander the old town, then back to Kyoto for dinner.