Nara Park is one of the oldest in Japan, which is impressive enough, but the bid draw for me was its large population of freely roaming deer. In Shinto, these deer are considered to be messengers of the gods, so these deer are protected and are have even been designated as a national treasure.

Possibly one of my favorite activities in Japan, the deer here are super friendly. Be careful though, they are still wild deer and unpredictable.

Who could resist such adorable animals? It is such an amazing moment to be able to get up close and personal with these normally shy animals and even touch them.

With the popularity of these animals they have even started selling Deer crackers around the park to feed these precious animals.

Even better this is completely free! You will see these deer everywhere on your way to the shrines and they make for wonderful picture opportunities so I highly encourage anyone who is in the area to stop by and see these cute little guys.