Thanks to Elizabeth, we have adorable pictures of what deer in Nara, Japan, like to read. This much cuteness might knock you over, so consider yourself warned.
Says Elizabeth,
Nara was the capitol of Japan before Kyoto, which was the capitol before the current one (it moved around a lot) and the old palace grounds are now a huge park with museums, gift shops, etc. It also has a metric shitload of sacred deer no one is allowed to hurt. Since they’re safe from harm, they have no fear, and will walk right up to you and eat from your hand. Or your bag. Or your children.
If anyone plans to go to Japan, everyone plans on Kyoto, but if you don’t see anything else, see Nara. I mean, really. It has deer!
Not just deer, but dear that read romance! Don’t believe me? Have a look!
I’d say Japanese deer in Nara have good taste.
(Thanks to Elizabeth for the pic!)
And not just romance, but Bet Me. Smart deer.
Officially the most darling photo on the intarwebs. Thanks for sharing.
I knew Jennifer Cruisie was good but this just goes to prove it!
Do deer in Nara read Nora??
Do deer in Nara read dear Nora—new tonguetwister!
I’ve been there, and those deer… are only cute for the first 5 minutes.
Then they’re just damn annoying.
They eat everything that looks remotely like food, and some things that don’t.
And you can’t make them go away.
A vacation picture actually worth taking… Thanks to Elizabeth & the Bitches for that Aw-moment.
Nara isn’t the only place where you see deers going after tourists for food. Miyajima is the same. They’re cute, but get annoying. They’ll try to eat your shoes, clothes…everything they can get close to!
I think the reason why people don’t usually visit Nara is that it’s a bit difficult to get to. Most tourists follow the shink line, and Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka etc. are all on the shink line and extremely easy to get to. (shink = shinkansen a.k.a. Japanese bullet trains operated by JR West and JR East)
BTW—if you really want to eat something “exotic”, go to Shimonoseki in winter for fugu (blowfish) or if you want to taste the best oysters in the world, go to Hiroshima in winter. Yum yum!
Those deer are also spoiled. I was visiting relatives years ago, and we went to Nara. Remembering my siblings’ fond memories of their visits, I bought some crackers from a vendor (who are all over the place just for this purpose) to feed the deer. But it was early in the day, they hadn’t been fed yet … and all of a sudden I was surrounded by hungry deer. SURROUNDED. Including those with very large antlers. I was mugged for my crackers before I knew it, and they were licking my fingers and kept nudging me for more.
They’re also very, very tame. I have pix of small children sitting on them, and the deer aren’t paying any attention at all.
Aw, totally cute.
No, in fact the [url=http://www.mountfitchetcastle.com/animals.htm]Castle{/url] down the road from me has a small herd of predatory deer, and goats too (and sheep, and a pair of white peacocks who wander around the village sometimes). They sell bags of animal feed, which is money for old rope, since the animals are more interested in the paper bag than the food inside it. When I worked there, all the deer were shut away during visiting hours, however, because of the Foot and Mouth epidemic. They weren’t happy: they wanted their paper bags to eat. Elizabeth is lucky the Japanese deer didn’t try to eat her book!
Stupid pony typing skills. My bad.
The deer are very cute, but there’s so many of them hanging around that in summer the whole park near Todaiji kinda…smells. A lot. Just be warned if you go there, be ready for it.
You see…the US educational system is just not up to international standards…they even teach the dear in Japan to read English!
I had a traumatic experience in Nara when I was but a wee child. Tried to pet a baby deer and the mama headbutted me and knocked me on my keester. Even so, that photo is precious!
Best pic I’ve seen today. Thanks for sharing.
Great picture. Is anyone going to post a link to it on Argh Ink so that J. Crusie can see it?
😉
Wouldn’t that make them teenagers??
that’s what I meant to put. it was too early for me…
LIBBY! You look great! and the deer is cute, too!
whoohooo! I’m auntie to someone who made it onto Smart Bitches!
Gwynnyd
I’m sorry, but why do so many people from the US get “capitol” and “capital” mixed up? The capitol is the building where a legislature (state or federal, in the US) sits. A capital is a city which is the centre of government for a state or country. The US Senate and House of Reps sit in the Capitol, which is located in Washington DC, the nation’s capital.
Thank you for your patience.