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DEER IN MOUNT WAKAKUSA

José Carlos Gómez Delgado
Mar 20, 2016
2 min read

Wakakusayama is a small mountain to the east of Nara. You can access it in different ways. One is paying 190 yen at the doors at the foot of the hill. Once the door is passed, we are in the place where Wakakusa Yamayaki Matsuri is held. Five minutes of ascent are enough to have a splendid view of Nara Park.

The second way is by car on a toll road. The last one is much more beautiful and healthy, after forty minute walk along a path in the woods between some small streams and small waterfalls. To access this path must continue eastward once past the famous Todaiji. The steering is well signposted, so there is usually no problem to find it. At one point, the trail is divided in two, one that continues to the top, and the other heads to the Uguisu Falls, far more distant but equally worth a visit. When you get to the top of the mountain you can enjoy a nice view of the Nara esplanade at the foot of the mountain, and Ikoma mountains on the horizon. From there, a path goes to the front of the mountain, which is the same place of Yamayaki Matsuri I mentioned earlier.

Whether at the top or at the foot of the mountain, surely we will find deer. When I went there was a large group of deer grazing. The peculiarity of these deer is that many of them had full antler. Although in October and in December horns are cut for safety reasons, it is impossible to cover all the deer in the vicinity, so that they move through the most remote areas of the city remain in a somewhat wild state, although still used to human presence.

There were many Japanese visitors taking pictures both the deer and the sunset.