Day 5 in Nara: DEER PARK - Todaiji Temple - Yoshikien Garden - Kofukuji Temple - Naramachi street

Covered in a vast area with a flourishing garden of trees, leaves and flowers, Nara Park is the place which proudly stands as the symbol of Nara today.

Nara Park

And rightly so, since the park holds a lot of Nara in it. You can easily spend a day here by visiting one or all of the several UNESCO World heritage sites namely the Kofuku-ji Temple, the Todai-ji Temple and the Kasuga Grand Shrine, playing with the gentle deers (easily crossing 1000 in number) roaming around freely in the locale or by simply losing yourself to the tranquility of the innate worlds.

Dear - Oh - Deer!

After reading a lot about deers and how it is one of the most unique experiences of Japan, one of the major draws in the Nara Park who enjoy a lot of attention from both the tourists and the locals alike, and how sacred they are on the blogs of the Nara bloggers, I was anxious to spend some time with these innocently docile, and much loved creatures and fulfill my wish of stroking their furry bodies, right from the very day I had stepped in the town.

I finally got my chance, on the morning of Day 5, thanks to our friend cosmos.

Deers roaming around in Nara Park, Japan
Deers in Nara Park

The Legend ~ A  white deer is believed to have been
the vehicle for the god of the Kasuga Taisha,
hence deers in Nara enjoy a sheltered status as godly messengers today.

After a brief introspection of the park that had a lot of deers roaming around freely; I immediately got down to work -- of finding a deer for myself so that I can run my hand through his fur. Little had I known then, what a tough job I had taken at hand.

Besides being naïve and tame,
the deers are quite smart not to give you any unwarranted attention!

I approached them vying for some of their attention only to be disappointed as many of them simply went about minding their business (of food!) while some others just shied away. The real activity started, when cosmos bought a packet of deer food – ‘shika senbei’ - from a shack nearby and handed a major portion of it to me. With the crackers in my hand, I suddenly became the center of their attraction! All their eyes, which were ignorant till a few minutes ago, all of a sudden turned ingenuously pleading.

I was the one, now being chased!

"I smell shika-senbei"

A Deer bowing at a boy's food-filled fingertips!

Feeding deers with shika senbei - the deer food in Nara Park, Japan
Deers flock a girl for a grab of their share

 So much for fun and this lasted till the crackers lasted or perhaps just a little more after that. After I was done with the crackers, came the tougher part of convincing them that I now had no more. Generally, flashing off both your empty hands does the trick and influences them that there is nothing more left in your pockets. That's exactly what I did and that's when they left tagging along to go ahead in their pursuit of finding someone else.

 ...In the hope of some more

 Empty handed again, I started scampering around the park in the hope of finding a deer that was lazy enough to stick to his place and not scurry away while I fiddled with him.

My joy knew no bounds when I finally got lucky!

Messengers of God... Messengers of Love, harmony, peace and purity.

 A few experiences in life are indescribable. Running after the deers, feeding them with their cookies and... stroking their backs were definitely some of them. Each moment spent in their playful, and affectionate company was enough to give a gentle call to the innocent child within. The same child that lights up your path to the beauty that you have always been, the beauty that reflects in the essence of your very being, the simple essence... that is sometimes also known as, 'The Message of God'.