A Deer Bit My Butt In Nara Japan
Last Updated on January 6, 2026 by Charlotte
A jolt of pain fires through my cheeks. I whip around and see that a deer has firmly latched on with its teeth! Its beady eyes give me a mischievous smirk. We’re in a battle of wills: woman versus beast. But I don’t tolerate naughty behavior. I refuse to forfeit my bag of cookies!
Holding the cookies high above my head, I pivot, ripping my tender bottom from the deer’s maw. During this kerfuffle, numerous other deer notice my cookies and trot over. I’m outnumbered. Accepting defeat, I break into a run and sprint toward Kofukuji Temple. Thankfully, the deer wandering around within the temple grounds are much more polite. They bow demurely. I give each of them a cookie.
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Do Nara Deer Bite?
Yesโฆ especially if youโre holding cookies and not handing them over fast enough. While the deer of Nara Park are generally polite (and even bow for treats!), theyโre still wild animals, and they can get a little bold when snacks are involved. Nibbles, headbutts, and even surprise chomp-attacks arenโt uncommon if a deer decides youโre being stingy with your crackers.
To stay on their good side:
- Hold your cookies visible and at armโs length (not behind your back or in your pockets, trust me).
- Offer one at a time, and donโt tease them.
- Once youโre out of cookies, show your empty hands like a magician ending a trick.
Most deer are sweet and gentle, but a few take their snack time very seriously. Treat them with kindness, be aware of your surroundings, and youโll walk away with a great story, and hopefully not a bruised bottom.
About The Nara Deer
There are over 1,200 wild shika deer in Nara Park. The shika deer are wild animals that freely roam and accept cookies from visitors throughout Nara Park. Nara Park is an expansive UNESCO World Heritage Site a short train ride away from Osaka and Kyoto. Nara Park covers over 1,240 acres with numerous temples and gardens.
The Legend of the Nara Deer
Kasuga Taisha Shrine is one of the primary temples within Nara Park and has a legend of a deity that was said to have ridden to Nara upon a sacred deer from Kashima Shrine. This legend enshrined deer as sacred animals and the helpers of the gods. Today, the Shika deer are protected and live throughout the park in a semi-wild fashion. They are accustomed to being fed by tourists and are generally gentle and polite.
Deer Cookies
Vendors all around the park sell Deer Cookies at stands along the main roads for 150 yen. As soon as you do buy, be prepared! The deer know exactly what those crackers look like, and theyโll surround you within seconds.
These cookies are made from wheat flour and rice bran and specially formulated to be a healthy part of the animals’ diet. Visitors are asked to only feed the deer the special deer cookies and to not give them any people food.
(I highly recommend that you avoid carrying the deer cookies in your pants pockets unless you want a sore bottom! But don’t be too afraid, because most Nara deer do not bite.)
The Best Time Of Day To Feed The Nara Deer
Nara Park is freely open to the public all day, however, most of the neighboring temples are open between 8 AM to 5 PM. Given the large volume of tourists feeding the deer, the deer will be more hungry in the early morning.
In the late afternoon, the deer may be completely disinterested in cookies after eating so much from the tourists who visited earlier. We suggest arriving around mid-morning if you’d like to feed the deer when they are not too hungry (hungry enough to bite your butt), and not too full.
How To Get To The Nara Deer Park
Nara Park is well connected to both Kyoto and Osaka by train. From the Nara Train station, it is about a ten to twenty-minute walk to Nara Park. We recommend using Google Maps to map your route.
By Train From Kyoto
The JR Nara Line train ride from Kyoto Station to Nara takes around one hour and is ยฅ970 or free with the Japan Rail Pass. The Kintetsu Limited Express from Kyoto Station to Nara is much faster, taking only 35 minutes, and the fare is ยฅ1,280.
By Train From Osaka
From Osaka, the trip takes around one hour by trail. Take the Osaka Loop Line to Tsuruhashi Station and then transfer to the Kintetsu-Nara Line. The fare is ยฅ780.
Was it worth the trip?
100% Yes! All in all, visiting Nara was one of the most memorable experiences we had in Japan. The deer are wild, weird, and completely unbothered by humans.
