Nara Park, Urban park in Nara, Japan.
Description
Nara Park is an urban park in Nara, Japan, that covers over six hundred hectares and features numerous walking paths through gardens and wooded areas. More than twelve hundred deer move freely across the grounds among temples and shrines.
History
The park was established in 1880 as a fourteen-hectare section of government land within the Kofuku-ji temple precinct. Over the following decades it expanded by incorporating several neighboring religious and natural areas.
Culture
The deer in the park have been regarded as sacred messengers of the gods for over a millennium and roam freely among visitors. They have learned to bow when requesting food, a gesture that has evolved across generations.
Practical
Visitors can purchase special crackers to feed the deer during their walk and should be aware that the animals can sometimes become impatient. The grounds lie just a few minutes on foot from both Kintetsu-Nara and JR Nara stations.
Did you know?
The deer population here forms a distinct genetic line separate from other deer on the Kii Peninsula. This points to centuries of isolation and protection within this confined area.
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Tōdai-ji
534 m
Tōdai-ji Daibutsu
528 m
Kōfuku-ji
1.1 km
Kasuga-taisha
638 m
Shōsōin
846 m
Great Buddha Hall
509 m
Gangō-ji
1.6 km
Nigatsu-dō
433 m
Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara
1.2 km
Shigisan Engi Emaki
671 m
Mount Wakakusa
1.2 km
Nara National Museum
671 m
Shin-Yakushi-ji
1.1 km
Statue of Fukūkensaku Kannon of Hokkedō, Tōdaiji
358 m
Nara Prefectural Police
872 m
Tamukeyama Hachiman Shrine
309 m
Himuro Shrine
509 m
Zutō
1 km
Isui-en
520 m
Extermination of Evil
572 m
Jūrin-in
1.4 km
Hell Scroll
572 m
Former House of Naoya Shiga
851 m
Uguisuzuka Kofun
1.2 km
Nara Prefectural Museum of Art
992 m
Former Daijoin Temple Garden
1.2 km
Enomoto Shrine
638 m
Fukuchi-in
1.2 kmDiscover hidden gems everywhere you go!
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