660-hectare park home to 1,200 free-roaming sika deer, considered sacred messengers. Visitors can feed them official shika senbei crackers.
💡 Getting there: JR Nara or Kintetsu Nara (~45 min from Osaka/Kyoto), then 5 min walk. 🕐 24/7. 💴 Free. 🦌 ~1,200 sika deer protected as "natural treasures" — shika senbei crackers ¥200 (don't feed anything else). 🛕 Inside: Tōdai-ji, Kasuga-taisha (3,000 lanterns), Kōfuku-ji. Best in autumn for red maples.