Golden Week: Shrines, Temples, and Deer
The first day of our family trip was planned to be spent at Nara, a more relaxed day since everyone would probably still be tired from the long trip to Japan, and possibly the jet lag. Thankfully, everyone seemed to have gotten a good sleep, and while it took us a bit longer than planned to get ready, soon we were off to Nara.
I’d wanted to see Nara when I had come to Osaka during New Years, but between fatigue and all the other things I wanted to see, I didn’t get the chance to go. I was excited to see the beautiful scenery, and of course the famous deer. I’d heard about this park on social media, but never looked into it too closely, so I was going in without any real expectations.
After about an hour train ride and a short walk, we were greeted by the entrance to the park, and already dozens of deer in sight. I’d seen the odd deer in Canada of course, but usually from a distance, knowing they would run if I startled them or got too close. These deer were not shy at all. I could see families and groups of people approaching the deer and feeding them Shika-senbei, or deer-crackers.
As we entered the park there were deer milling about on the walkway, and before we even bought some deer-crackers to give them they were approaching us. It was cool getting to see deer so up close and personal. It’s the kind of wild animal you rarely get a chance to interact with, let alone having right in your face silently begging to be fed crackers.
As we bought some deer-crackers we ventured off the main path where there were tons of deer sitting, sleeping, and milling about. Of course we all wanted to get good photos and videos of us interacting with the deer, I mean it was a pretty unique experience after all, we had to get some kind of proof! As I approached a deer, my sister mentioned that I should try bowing to the deer before feeding it, they sometimes bow in return.
My mom started to dismiss the idea, I couldn’t blame her, an animal bowing to humans certainly seemed like an incredulous idea. I didn’t really think much about whether the deer would bow back or not, but almost out of instinct living here in Japan, I gave a deep bow to the deer in front of me. To my surprise, as I lifted my head the deer bowed its head in response! I gave another bow to the deer, trying to confirm what I’d seen was real. Once again, the deer bowed back!
Apparently, this is learned behavior, since the deer here know that they’re more likely to get fed if they bow to visitors. Since these deer are considered divine messengers from the thunder god, Takemikazuchi, it’s likely that Japanese people have been bowing to them for decades before feeding them. At some point, the deer must have learned to bow back, and begun modeling that behavior for their offspring. Seeing it in action was quite the treat!
The deer were very tame, but there were still plenty of signs cautioning visitors. They are still wild animals afterall, and could headbutt or bite if provoked. You were advised not to touch the deer, and keep an eye on your belongings. I tried to resist the temptation, but I had to at least have a quick feel of their fur. So after feeding a deer through a fence I gave its forehead a quick graze.
After taking pictures and videos of the deer, we began to move on to the park’s other attractions, the shrines and temples. The Tōdai-ji temple, along with 7 other sites make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. I didn’t know a lot of the historic context, but even just viewing the temple you’re given a strong sense of importance.
My parents had been to China before, and so were comparing it to other buddhist temples in China. This temple was actually built to imitate the style of Chinese temples from the Tang dynasty. I only had the other temples in Kyoto to compare it to, and the style seemed a little different, though without seeing them side by side I doubt I could point out the architectural differences. We debated going to see the inside, which boasts the largest bronze statue of the Buddah Vairocana.
In the end, we decided we were content just to admire the outside. There was a more pressing issue at hand. It was growing hot, and it was almost time for lunch. As we meandered back the way we came, we tried to come up with some possible lunch solutions. Luckily, my mom pointed out a restaurant tucked off to the side among the various souvenir shops. We ducked in, and managed to get a table almost right away.
Now it was time to try and navigate one of my bigger concerns, food. We would be mostly in tourist areas, so I expected the staff to be used to more English speakers, so I hoped pointing and ordering would get us through most places. What was going to be trickier though, was getting food for my dad. My dad is celiac, which means he isn’t able to eat foods with gluten in them. In the west, it’s pretty common for restaurants to accommodate this, as it’s both a dietary restriction, and often featured in fad diets, like keto.
My parents had tried to download a diet card explaining this in Japanese, but I was pretty skeptical. We passed it to the server, but she shook her head, it seemed none of the options could accommodate him. The only option for my poor dad was just a bowl of rice. I was pretty worried about this sort of thing, but it was largely outside my control. He came armed with snacks to help tide him over, but it was too bad he would have to miss out on the tasty food.
The rest of the family got an assortment of curry and udon. It was a nice refreshing meal, and gave us the perfect break from walking around in the sun. After finishing the meal we got ready to go to the last place on our list for today, Kasuga shrine. This shrine was the only shrine featured as part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. I must really have a soft spot for shrines, because as impressive as the temple was, I liked the shrine a lot more.
As we passed through the torii gate, one of the oldest torii gates in shinto, and one that influenced the style of Torii seen all over Japan, we were met with dozens of stone lanterns. In fact, there are over three thousand stone lanterns that line the way leading up to the main sanctuary. It was quite the incredible feeling, walking through a forest, passing by endless stone lanterns and visiting a shrine alongside my family.
It was one of those experiences that reminded me how lucky I feel to be here in Japan. Even luckier that my family was able to come visit and explore Japan with me. We’d been visiting some places I had already been, and I was excited to revisit them, but taking in a new sight at the same time as them felt pretty special.
After visiting the main shrine sanctuary, we slowly made our way back down the path and left the park. It had been a great day, but all the walking was starting to take its toll, and so we headed back to the train station. I did my best to try and entertain my nephew on the train so my sister could have a break. I hadn’t gotten to play uncle in a while, and wanted to spend time with my nephew while I could. He’d changed so much in just the 6 months I’d been away, he had barely started walking before I left, and now he didn’t want to sit still.
We had a quiet evening at the Airbnb, unwinding after walking around in the heat. We eventually ventured out for dinner to the closest MOS Burger, a fast food chain I’d yet to visit. It was supposed to have a decent gluten free burger option, which made it a good place for dad to eat. We had a bit of trouble figuring out what to order, but eventually we got our food and had a good meal. MOS Burger would become a good place to eat in a pinch, since we knew it would accommodate my dad.
When we got back, one by one people started to fade and headed off to bed. Tomorrow was a much bigger day, tackling Kyoto. I had spent 3 days in Kyoto seeing the same sights we were about to do in just 1 day. I was excited to show them the places I was so fond of though, so I was excited, even if I knew my feet would be hurting by the end of it.
Nara had been such an excellent start to our sightseeing, I was glad most of my worries had been unfounded. It was a shame dad had, and would have, trouble finding food he could eat, but I hope he was able to enjoy the trip regardless. I was glad I could share some of what I find so special about Japan with my family. It’s hard to be apart from them, but I hope this trip gave them an inkling of what makes Japan so special.
