Notes from Nara Park｜Collecting the Lost Time of the Tang Dynasty Among Sacred Deer and Ancient Temples

While tourists crowded Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto, I quietly boarded the train to Nara. This thousand-year-old ancient capital, embraced by Kasuga Mountain, carries the fresh air of moss and incense in the May breeze. Deer bells tinkle among the cedar trees, and the entire park unfolds like a newly opened handscroll of the Manyoshu, stretching out the lingering charm of the flourishing Tang era in the morning light. --- 🦌 One-Day Stroll Guide Transportation: 5-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station; comfortable shoes recommended inside the park Route: Ukimido → Kasuga Taisha Shrine → Wakakusa Mountain → Todai-ji Temple → Naramachi 🌸 Morning Prelude: 7:00-10:00 · Ukimido’s Mirror Flower and Water Moon At 7 a.m., Egret Pond is still free of visitors, and the wooden corridor reflects like a mirror on the water. Buy a 200-yen bag of deer crackers; the deer will elegantly bow to ask for food, with morning dew still on their eyelashes. · Kasuga Taisha Sacred Grounds Walk along the path lined with 3,000 stone lanterns, where moss has grown in the lantern crevices for 800 years. Tie a five-colored enmusubi (good luck) string at the Meoto Daikoku Shrine; the shrine maidens say the deer here are messengers of the gods. 🍃 Mountain Symphony: 10:00-15:00 · Wakakusa Mountain’s Triple Cherry Blossoms Pay 150 yen to climb the grassy slope and take in the panoramic view of the Nara Basin. Lying on the velvet-like grass, a deer quietly approaches to sniff the gardenia in your hair, while the distant sound of wooden mallets repairing Todai-ji echoes. · Todai-ji Time Tunnel In front of the world’s largest wooden Buddha hall, pigeons and deer share shade beneath the lotus pedestal. Touch the pillar hole (said to grant wisdom if you pass through it) and faintly hear the chants from the temple’s founding in 752. · Hidden Tea House Hide behind the bamboo curtains of Kasuga Lotus Tea House and enjoy mugwort mochi with iced matcha. The deer pattern on the ceramic plate aligns with the deer shadows outside the window, while an elderly lady softly recounts stories of Emperor Shomu and Tōshōdai-ji Temple. 🌇 Twilight Poem: 15:00-18:00 · Naramachi Maze Search for Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten among Edo-period shops and buy a roll of Nara sun-dried hemp cloth. Behind the lattice window, a craftsman carves a deer antler seal, and the blade’s edge raises fine stardust. · Sarusawa Pond Sunset Sit on a bench by the pond and watch the sunset gild the five-story pagoda. The tragic love story of the maidens turns into koi fish in the pond. The old man selling dango gives you an extra skewer of soy sauce-glazed sticky rice balls, the sweet and salty mingling like the taste of time. --- 📿 Hidden Extras · Sutra Copying Experience: Use a brush to copy the Heart Sutra at Todai-ji’s Nigatsu-do Hall, with the scent of cedar wood floating on the paper · Deer Flute Tracking: Borrow a traditional deer flute from the park staff; when you play it, fawns peek out from the forest · Night Lantern Spectacle: On the 14th of each month, there is a special night visit when all stone lanterns are lit like a flowing galaxy --- "Nara taught me: true eternity is not resisting change, but like the wooden pillars of ancient temples—always protecting the original Zen spirit through countless restorations."