Nara Park, Urban park in Nara, Japan.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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