Gypsy Biker

Japanese Word of the Day:

English: Deer
Japanese: Kako (鹿子 or かこ)

Timeline: Just happened (9/29)

Yesterday I had a day off. So when you’re living and working as an English teacher in Japan what do you do when you have a free Monday? You go and poke deer.

Let’s talk about Nara!

Nara city is part of Nara prefecture, just south of where I live in Kyoto prefecture. When people think of the area I live in they think of the triangle formed by the 3 most famous towns here; Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. So what makes Nara awesome enough to be in the same category as Osaka and Kyoto? I would say 3 words: history, temples, and deer.

Wait, deer?

"Yes, we'd like some food please. Oh and a deer plushie."

Yes, deer! See, Nara is a town filled with massive amazing temples and shrines so religion is pretty important there. Nara was also briefly the capital of Japan (between 710-784 AD) and legend states that a god called Takemikazuchi came down to bless and protect the new capital riding on a deer. Since then, deer in Nara have been honored and protected.

I've actually been meaning to go to Nara for years. When I studied abroad in Japan I was also near Nara and some of my friends went and brought back great pictures and stories but for some reason I just never went. I missed a group trip there this weekend because I had Elementary School Sports Day so I decided to just go by myself.

Which leads to a quick digression. I've had a few people talk to me lately about traveling and when I say I travel alone they ask if I get lonely. The answer to that is absolutely no. It may seem strange but hear me out. When I’m with other people I have to be consciously aware of their needs and wants. For example, if I stop to have a photoshoot with a kind deer they may be bored and want to move on to something interesting. If I am by myself I can spend as long as I want looking through the lens or deciding on a whim “hey, that place looks cool, I’ll go check it out”. That doesn't mean I dislike traveling with people entirely. If it was a good friend or someone I’m comfortable with I wouldn't mind as much but in general I find I like independent travelling and am not lonely.

But let’s get back to Nara. I planned my trip the day prior so I would arrive right at 11:00 so I could grab lunch before going on the temple tour. I poked around online beforehand and found a place that served Italian and Indian food and even had English menus. I can’t begin to tell you how exciting it was to not have to take 5 minutes to translate a menu page. I ended up getting a four cheese pizza and mango lassi; a pretty great way to start my adventure.

I swear to you that's a vial of honey and not a shot glass.

After lunch I headed in the direction of the Nara Park and it wasn't long before I started to see the deer. In Nara, not only do the deer run amok but vendors sell deer biscuits that you can feed to the deer. As a result of this the deer see humans as food vending machines. They regularly walked up to me, checked my hands, and disappointed left because I had no biscuits for them. Also, some of the deer have learned to bow back to someone who bows at them for biscuits. Again, since I had no biscuits I personally had no success with this but it’s a well-documented behavior.

Disclaimer, not my gif.

I personally found a lovely male deer who had had his antlers sanded down and seemed to have a monster itch around them. I gave him a good head scratch right behind the antler stubs and he decided he quite liked me and was kind enough to pose for me.

I shall call him "deer-bro".

Once I had enough of the deer I continued along down a few side roads in search of the Isuien Gardens. Isuien is a bit off the beaten path (though not that far) so I think a lot of tourists miss it which is a real shame. It’s an absolutely stunning garden, complete with a tea house and restaurant that is highly picturesque. It has a small admissions fee (650￥) while the garden next to it is free so it gets a bit less traffic which makes it even easier to get great shots. I especially lucked out since my timing coincided with the trees just beginning to turn, which I swear I didn't plan. I spent quite a while there taking pictures but I’ll just leave you my favorite.

In case you were wondering, I took 790 pictures on my trip. Yes, I know I have a problem.
Totally worth it for shots like this.

Once I finally drug myself away from the beauty of the gardens I headed into Nara Park and quickly found myself approaching a temple I didn't recognize. What the hell, let’s see what’s inside!

Actually in my notes I called this place the “angry statue shrine” because I didn't know the actual name and that’s what I was most struck by (it’s actually called Kaidan-do).  The temple was fairly small with the bulk of it being taken up by a miniature temple surrounded and protected by Four Devas (no, not divas). Said Devas are standing in the four corners of the raised area, each squishing a demon-type thing under their feet and each wielding a different item; I recall a sword, a spear, a small pagoda, and a paint brush. I would show you more pictures but I asked if pictures were ok and was told no (after I’d already taken the first one, oops).

I particularly liked this guy's face

When I planned to come to Nara I knew the place I absolutely had to go was Toudaiji Temple and as I left Kaidan-do I realized I would have no trouble finding it. Toudaiji towered in the distance, well above everything else, and I used it like a beacon to lead me to the gates.

Toudaji was the world’s largest wooden building up until 1998, to give some perspective. It is massive. It also contains the world’s largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana. So yeah, it’s a big deal. A big, BIG deal.

Please note the people for scale.

My timing also seemed to luck out again as I arrived to see a ceremony underway in Toudaiji. For lack of a better, more educated assessment I will conclude that it looked akin to a graduation ceremony except with monks. I actually recorded a very short video of them chanting!

Warning, video has sound, don't watch at work.

Please disregard the wobbly-ness, I am not used to taking video.

Toudaji was really spectacular in ways that are hard to describe. Obviously the entirely massive Buddha was really cool but there were also little details like the lotus flower sculptures around the statue and the beautiful way the wooden beams looked that are hard to describe. So have some pictures!

Again, people for scale.

Monks doin' monk stuff.

As I was heading to the exit I noticed a souvenir shop was set up inside the temple. It seemed strangely sacrilegious to sell merchandise in the same space as people praying but I kind of liked the lack of pretense. I ended up getting a canvas bag and an adorable deer mascot as well as 2 charms, one each for myself and a friend.

The black thing is the bag. Also, cutest mascot ever.

By now it was around 2 in the afternoon and I’d been walking around a while so I opted for a water break. I followed a path towards more souvenir shops where I located a vending machine and sat among the deer to rest. While there I got to witness a rowdy group of deer mug an old woman for her biscuits and chase a teen girl into a shop. The shop keepers were understandably prepared for deer management and came out in force with a spray bottle of water that sent the deer away. I can’t help but think that the deer are just big puppies that run the town.

The lady on the left is holding deer biscuits. She got mugged immediately after.

I poked around a few more buildings in the area before stumbling on a hillside temple that looked like it would have a great view (toudaji nigatsu-do for the curious). I climbed up and lamented that I wasn't there a few hours later because I was sure the sunset there would be spectacular as it gazed out on the sprawling Nara cityscape. From the peaceful vantage point of a temple ground the cities of Japan seem so alien. Temples are laid out in very precise ways, with plenty of breathing space; very different from the wabi-sabi approach of a crowded Japanese city.

I like silhouettes.

Next to the temple viewing deck I found a building beckoning me inside with a sign offering it as a free resting house. Inside I found various seats in both western (table and chairs) and eastern (tatami mat and low table) styles as well as free water and tea provided that you were willing to clean your cup after use. After walking and climbing up hills all day I gladly took the respite offered.

While sitting I decided I had enjoyed a full day of exploration and that I should begin my walk back to the station before the aching in my feet began so I wouldn’t be sore in class the next day. But I still had one more stop in mind before catching my train.

Just north of the train station I had looked up a café that served fantastic looking fruit parfaits and popped in for an early ‘dinner’. I found the café was a beautiful little shop with an incredibly kind hostess who chatted with me in English while making me the best parfait I've ever eaten. Also my first parfait, but it was really good so I feel comfortable calling it a best.

Parfaits are a surprisingly big deal in Japan.

On my train and later bus ride home I reflected on what it was about the trip that left me feeling so recharged. What I concluded was that going to Nara was like a mini vacation from living in Japan. Allow me to explain.

When I am riding the bus from my town there are several hilariously strange things along the route, such as a large pirate statue atop a building and various creative uses of English such as “Day Salon Santa” written in Disney style font. Every time I see them I think how much I’d like to snap a picture to show and every time I don’t because I don’t want to draw attention to the fact that I am an outsider. Inside my town I am literally the only white girl so anything I do I feel becomes reflective on white girls everywhere. As a result, I feel a constant pressure to be in performance mode and be constantly hyper aware.

In Nara, I was one of many. Nara is a world heritage site; it was flooded with tourists from all over the world. If I made an ass of myself in Nara I could feel like people would just think “wow that dumb tourist” rather than “wow, white girls are dumb” in Ujitawara. Don’t think I mean the people of Ujitawara are in any way judgmental. They've been insanely patient with me and are incredibly kind but when you only have one example of something it becomes the default. You should all go watch Chimamanda Adichie’s amazing Ted Talk about the “danger of the single story”, by the way.

In addition, in Nara I was given menus in English and could communicate in basic English with waiters. That might not seem like much but trying to translate an entire page of a menu just to figure out what to eat can get very frustrating. It can be even more so when it’s an Italian named dish written in Japanese Italian (ie, “quattro formaggi” written as “kuatoro forumajji”/クアトロ・フォルマッジ). Needless to say, this was a much needed quick vacation to remind me what an absolutely amazing place I live in and remember I’m allowed to be a tourist sometimes.

Also deer.