Two for the Road

Before this blog properly commences, I must confess, deer reader¹, that we almost fell victim to the fearmongering abundant on social media concerning Nara, the next destination on our tour of Japan and a former capital of the nation. It’s easy to tell yourself that you’re too smart to fall for whatever tales social media throws at you for clicks and attention, that it’s other people who fall for that, not you. But we came so close to doing just this.

Nara is most famous for its park where large groups² of wild, tame deer are free to wander, and locals and tourists alike can witness the most magical sight of deer bowing to you before you feed them crackers. It’s all very Disney, really. But in the days and weeks leading up to our time here our social media algorithms were filled with videos of deer mobbing and attacking people for the crime of not having enough crackers to quell their insatiable appetites. The stuff of nightmares, I’m sure you’ll agree. I’m pleased to say, however, that what’s shown in these videos couldn’t be further from the truth.

After leaving the quiet, mediative town of Koyasan, we stopped briefly once again in Osaka for the most delicious katsu curry lunch before jumping on the train to Nara.

Long, narrow buildings serve as shops and homes alike, the architecture in-keeping with the quintessentially Japanese aim of blending modernity with tradition. Our Airbnb is no different. Almost every door to each room and cupboard is a sliding door. Each entrance to a room is very Japanese also, in that they’re seemingly designed for children and/or hobbits. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve smacked my head going in and out of different areas of the house. Let’s hope that’s just due to the amount of times it’s happened rather than any serious head injury.

Yesterday we headed to Nara Park, ready to face the hoards of deer lying in wait to beat us up. But our fears were quickly abated. The deer were so docile and friendly, and there were seemingly hundreds walking around the park freely in amongst the crowds. We bought crackers and, lo and behold, deer bowed before us and ate crackers out of our hands. Neither of us has seen deer in person where they haven’t immediately fled at first sight, let alone ones this friendly and curious.

Turns out, if you don’t walk around with an entire pack of crackers in your hands, feed little bits at a time to the deer, and open your hands after to show you don’t have any more crackers, then the deer will leave you alone. Social media making things seem more intimidating than they actually are to increase watch time and to get clicks? Now I have seen everything.

We bid farewell to Bambi and friends and headed to Naramachi, the old merchant district, where temples are dotted in between rows of Edo Period townhouses which formerly belonged to Nara’s extensive merchant class. Here’s where I would note interesting facts, such as that the reason why the buildings are so narrow is because they were taxed on their width, but I don’t want to give politicians at home ideas.We went into a ‘lattice house’, a still-standing example of said townhouses complete with an inner garden, and didn’t have to pay a penny for the privilege.

It was then time for cocktails and wine before heading home.

Matt

1. [Pause for laughter] ↩︎
2. It doesn’t help that two of the collective nouns for a group of deer include ‘gang’ and ‘mob’. ↩︎