Just tell yourself, Duckie, you're real quite lucky.

Deer crowd a man with treats for them in Nara.

The Great Buddha statue located in Daibutsu-den hall.

A short walk from the Kintetsu Nara station puts you in Nara-koen. A large park in a city that was the first permanent capital of Japan if only for a little while. The park is the located of Todaji-ji which houses the famously large statue of the Buddha. And it was large. The hall in which it was held, Daibutsu-den hall, was equally if not more impressive. It was rebuilt in 1709 and is the worlds largest wooden building. I was in awe.

My favorite part of the trip was the deer. They were everywhere. Before we even actually got the the park area we were surround by deer. Friendly, pet-able, wild deer. Unless you were in a building you were not out of site of deer. We even had one join us for lunch. The park itself is gorgeous. It was a mix and of forest and open grassy areas.  Nara has been my favorite place I've visited.