Once upon a time, a divinity road into the city on a white deer. Since then deer have been considered sacred in Nara, so much so that killing one of these deer is punishable by death! The deer have come to enjoy this peaceful park, filled with tourists eager to gawk at them. There are signs posted warning that these are wild animals. These signs are in English in addition to Japanese, meaning many an English speaking tourist has come here and harassed the deer. We caught a train to Nara, determined to be friendly, nice tourists not the deer harassing kind.
Prepping for our adventure, we read up on what to expect. The deer are feisty, they've grown accustomed to the tourists and the yummy snacks they carry. Snacks which can be procured from the little stands surrounding the park. Special snacks that are safe for the deer to eat. And these deer know once they've been purchased. They know and they want the food. They are determined.
Bowing is part of everyday life in Japan. There are many layers to the social implications of the etiquette of when to bow, how deep your bow should be and for how long you hold the bowed position. Clerks will bow to customers at shops, strangers will bow to each other on the street and the old folks engage in bowing contests, bowing deeper and deeper, determined to be the one demonstrating the most respect as they bow to the other. These deer have embraced this tradition. And they will bow to you, in exchange for yummy snacks of course.
Did I mention the deer are feisty? And determined to get all the yummy snacks? They have been known to go into pockets, steal bags and even nudge into you trying to get the food. And by nudge, they've headbutted grown men, knocked down small children and nipped at silly tourists trying to get the deer to bow before offering them the yummy snacks. They warn you not to carry any bags with you lest they be snatched by the curious deer.
After watching the menfolk feed the deer (and get chased by the deer) we wandered further down into the park. Rumor has it the deer at the front of the park are the most aggressive. So we head for the back and I decide I'm ready to try my hand at this.
Let's just say, when you bring a toddler teacher to a park. Give her crackers to feed the feisty deer. Her teacher voice comes out loud and clear when the feisty deer get all rowdy. Maybe it was the language barrier, but these deer didn't listen!
One of us was much better at the deer wrangling! Check out some videos: The Deer of Nara