Long Time, No See~ (and some things on Nara...)
I’ve been extremely busy after my last post, taking up a huge commission and then having more visitors (two last month - overlapping to this month, one this month and then two more next month! @_@) lately, so I haven’t had the time to process the TONS of pics I have for you.
So...I apologize, but expect a rain of pictures to come soon.
I am writing today also to include a PSA for those visiting Nara, the land of deer.
When you go to Nara, bring one backpack - enough to carry whatever you might buy there. Handbags and such are ok, but backpacks would be ideal. Sometimes the deer will try to nip at plastic bags and such that are dangling (especially the deer in the path before Todaiji). Backpacks are usually safe from the nitpickers.
Try to buy しかせんべい (shikasenbei) aka deer biscuits in a spot where there aren’t as many deer crowding - this lessens the chance of you getting overwhelmed by ravenous deer (well, not ravenous, but they will chase you if they see you have food).
Immediately after you buy the せんべい, HIDE IT. HIDE IT LIKE A DIRTY LITTLE SECRET. You definitely don’t want the deer to see you with it, unless you want to feed it. The likelihood that they will get aggressive with you increases if they know you have せんべい.
Try to be as stealthy as you can in getting せんべい from your bag, and just use quarters - or sizes that are easily hidden by your closed fist. This way, you can control the situation - you’re not openly broadcasting your せんべい goodness and calling all the unfed deer to your vicinity.
When feeding the deer raise the せんべい holding hand up high, and the deer will “bow” (look like nodding, really xD) their heads. Pretty cute. You can feed them after that - just an extra trick they know.
When you are no longer holding any せんべい in your hands, raise them up, palms open (like you’re surrendering), and you can even wave them a little. Basically, you’re showing the deer that you’re empty-handed. This trick has always worked for me to keep deer at bay, and stop them from pestering me.
Most importantly, keep calm and cool, and have some confidence when you walk. I notice that people who openly show fear, or is clearly frightened, or easily bullied into giving up their せんべい, gets bullied by the deer. It’s like they know they can scare-tactics you into giving them more food - likely a learned behavior from scared tourists. So, walk with confidence and be firm but gentle - don’t go getting into headbutt fights with a male deer.
I visited Nara today with first-time visiting family, and noticed these things that most visitors don’t seem to see, so I thought I’d give you guys a head’s up. I did see two older male deer fight over one piece of せんべい today, so while I have not seen deer do this to a person visiting, it’s rather possible (there was a Japanese student who got chased cause he ran off scared at one point - thus my pointer on keeping cool and not being frightened) - there are signs everywhere to be cautious.
The deer may seem docile (and they are, for the most part) but they are still wild deer and they aren’t domesticated by any means. They’re used to the humans milling about, and are generally nice, but if you piss them off - then well, they aren’t afraid (especially the males) to fight back.
