Nara 2007 - The Sake Pilgrimage and the Deer

A short train ride (about 45 minutes) from Osaka is a very lovely country city called Nara.  Today I decided to journey there for two purposes - 1. The perfect Sake; 2. The Deer;

Allow me to expand on those two: 

Purpose 1 - Last year we had a lovely Sushi dinner in Ginza at a place called Kyubei. They served us Harushika Sake and it was the best Sake we ever had. We researched and found out the Sake is from Nara. So, planning for this pilgrimage was a year in the making! I would goto Nara and acquire the Sake, and then move on to purpose 2.

Purpose 2 - Nara is an area heavily vested in tradition. They have a lovely temple area that is completely surrounded by Deer. The Deer are tame (although a little persistent) and people buy feed for them and the Deer swarm like bees trying to get some. Most interesting is the Deer have been living in this park for over 1,300 years and are thought to be sacred messengers of Shinto deity Takenomikazuchi-no-mikoto.  Until 1637, killing one of these divine Deer was a capital offense and carried the death penalty. 

I have to say Nara is one of the unique places in the world and it is a pleasure to visit.