Nara is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan, and it is rich in history and nature. Here, there are over 1200 deer that roam the city’s numerous parks and temples, and you can feed them rice crackers called shika senbei or “deer cookies” (鹿せんべい).

Known as shika deer, their name comes from “sika” (鹿), which is the Japanese word for deer. In the Shinto religion, they are regarded as messengers of gods, so they are considered divine and sacred. Thus, the reasons for the high populations and habituation to people.

If you’d like a little tour, here’s a video I made showing what it’s like to walk among these deer and feed them senbei. As you’ll see, my wife and I had a great time!