My Deer Friends

This morning we traveled a little over an hour to visit some deer friends of ours at Nara Park.

I can't tell you how many times we've hopped on one of these 

Nice to have an empty car...for now...

Nara is home to over 1,200 wild deer, who according to folklore, were considered divine and sacred by one of the four gods of Kasuga Shrine. They are now designated as a national treasure. 

It was a bit crazy to see all of these people walking around amongst the deer. The deer were quite tame, actually more so than most of the humans I saw there. 😏

Maybe it's the animal lover in me, but I really enjoyed hanging out with these guys. I purchased some "deer crackers" to feed to them; some deer were quite aggressive while others were a bit more timid. A few even graciously bowed (their head) to request a cracker. 

😍

Hey lady, can I has some crackers?!

Oh, deer! 😍

Nothing like getting your butt pinched by a deer

They were so greedy!

Luckily deer aren't interested in peach ice cream.

While also in the park we stopped at the Buddhist temples, Kofuku-ji, one of the seven great temples of Nara and Todaiji Temple. Todaiji was by far the most impressive I've seen so far.

Kofuku-ji

Gojū-no-tō, a five-storied pagoda 

Outside of Todaiji

The main hall Daibutsuden, means "Great Buddha" and is the world's largest wooden building.

Lotus pedestal depicting the "Lotus-Matrix World-System"

This photo cracks me up. Many people believe it's good luck if you can
slide through this pillar at the temple.

Pindola who is said to have excelled in the mastery of occult powers, was one of the sixteen araphats,
who were disciples of the buddha. It is commonly believed in Japan that when a person rubs a part
of Pindola and then rubs a corresponding part of their own body, their ailment will disappear forever.

I'm sorry, I couldn't help but laugh that
the menu read "EngRish"

We ventured a little bit outside of the park and got lunch at Sakura Burger. I don't remember the last time I had a burger, but after only eating noodles and rice the past few days, it certainly hit the spot.

We rode home on a train full of school children (In Japan, children go to school every other Saturday) and hung out for the rest of the evening, watching a movie on the laptop while eating snacks (craaazy Saturday night, I know!) We've got another full day tomorrow doe. 🦌