Oh Deer!

We visited Nara, around 30 or so miles from Osaka, but really easy to get to by train. Nara Park is one of the must-see areas of the city, it covers a huge area and is renowned for its free-roaming deer and world famous temples. As you approach the park from the train station you start to see deers gathering on the pavements, as crowds of humans buy special crackers from street vendors to feed them. There are 100's of them in the grass park area, but they don't end there. As you move in up to the temple area, they are also up there, mingling with tourists by the street vendors, at the temple gates etc. There is a belief that a deity arrived in Nara on a deer, and they are considered sacred, and therefore protected animals.

We bought some crackers to feed them, but it all got a bit frenzied. As soon as Chris got them out of the bag he was surrounded by about half a dozen of them, all keen to get a snack. They can become a bit persistent , and one or two of them pulled at our clothes to try and get what they were after so we ended up more or less throwing the crackers at them to try and break them up! We saw one eating a lady' s paper bag, and one licking up an ice slushy ripped on the pavement.

If you don't have crackers they are quite gentle and allow you to wander amongst them, and stand close to them. If you bow at them, they will also bow back! (Think they know by now that it gets them crackers! )

We also visited the Todaiji Temple with its 15m high Buddha; it's the most grand of the seven great temples in the area. It was founded in the 8th century and we think it is the world's largest wooden building. In a country which holds thousands of temples, this one appears to command respect amongst the Buddhist community.

We also did some more sake tasting, this time at the Harushika Sake Brewery , a local company which produces a variety of sake. We had five different ones to try and yes, Chris ended up buying his preferred one to bring home!