Well good morning.
Good morning guys.
Today we are going on a day trip.
Yes.
We are leaving Osaka behind and going to Nara (奈良市).
What is the plan?
The plan is to take a short little train ride.
It is not long at all.
Upon arrival we're going to be visiting some really cool deer.
They are very friendly and they bow.
And there is also some really neat street food, some cool architecture and parks so
we're going to be checking it all out in this Nara Travel Guide.
Travel update.
So we made it to Nipponbashi and we found the Kintetsu line so our tickets to Nara are
560 Yen per person.
That is one way and they've told us platform 1 will take us straight to Nara (奈良市).
Brilliant.
That is nice and easy.
Let's go.
Okay so one thing to keep in mind is that just because you are at platform 1 that doesn't
mean the first train to arrive is yours.
There are different trains that stop at this platform so make sure it says Nara on it.
It should be Kintetsu Nara Line.
Yeah.
Also check the screens as well.
Yes.
Because they announce what time your train will be coming.
Alright guys so we have made it to Nara.
Yeah.
It was just a little over 30 minutes.
I slept for part of the way.
You did.
I was filming most of the way.
Yeah.
I saw a bit of nature towards the end.
Yeah it was neat changing from like a very urban setting to a more rural one.
Also like it was cool to start seeing mountains and lots of buildings.
Deer!
We are seeing deer already.
Turn around.
Woah!
Sorry to interrupt.
But deer.
Check it out.
This stand right here is where you can buy your crackers to feed the deer and they are
gathered and waiting because they know there is food here.
Oh wow.
They are not shy.
They are like tugging at her clothes.
So yeah we'll be feeding deer later just not right now.
Look at them.
They are all gathered here.
So peaceful.
Bambi.
Hello Bambi.
So we've been in Nara maybe a grand total of five minutes.
I can already tell you I love this place.
Mostly because of the deer.
They are everywhere.
Like you start seeing them as soon as you come out of the station.
They are on the streets.
On the sidewalks.
In the parks.
And they are so friendly.
They just approach you so yeah this is going to be a fun day trip.
So apparently the deer crackers are called if you look down here.
Shika Senbei (鹿せんべい).
Deer crackers especially made for deer.
Alright so we won't be feeding them sushi then.
No.
That is just for us.
So our next stop is going to be Tōdai-ji (東大寺) which is a wooden temple and at
one point this was the largest wooden structure in the whole world.
Like it is massive once you are approaching it.
And it also houses a huge statue of a bronze Buddha.
So yeah admission is 600 Yen per person.
Let's go in.
And now there is people crawling through this hole in one of the columns.
I'm guessing for good luck.
Buying deer poop.
So this is a fun little snack we found.
Deer poop.
They sell deer poop.
Of course it is not really poop.
It is actually chocolate.
It is peanuts covered in chocolate.
Oh.
Do you want to know the funny thing is I've seen actually a lot of real deer poop on the
ground.
Yes.
And it looks just like it.
Quite similar.
It does.
It comes in a little package.
I can hear a deer crying.
It is like calling out for food.
Ah, poor thing.
It is a squeak.
Is it a squeak?
Um so yeah we're going to be trying deer poop.
Okay let's try this.
Is it good?
That is good.
It reminds me of those chocolate covered m and m peanuts.
Okay.
That is basically what it tastes like.
There is a chocolate bar back home called Glosettes that has chocolate and peanuts too.
Mmmm.
Aren't those raisins?
Glosettes?
There have both.
They are both.
Usually raisins but.
This is pretty good.
Are they good?
Mmmhmm.
You know what?
It would be a really funny souvenir to take back home to your friends.
Yeah.
Buy some deer poop.
Definitely.
These melt fast.
Yep.
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
You got to try the first thing with the last snack.
I get to try both of these.
Okay right now.
Matcha first.
Mmmm.
Strong strong matcha flavour.
I love that.
How is mine?
Mmmm.
Oh yours is really refreshing and sweet.
Yeah.
Yeah, these are good.
Oh good.
I'm relieved.
Yeah.
I wasn't sure what mine was going to taste like.
Alright so we are enjoying our ice creams.
I've got to say this was a really great choice.
This Sakura one.
I didn't know what cherry blossom would taste like but yeah it is just really sweet.
A hint of floral-ness.
It is just really nice.
It smells good too.
Um but we noticed they have seasonal flavours.
You can also get white peach.
Um so yeah depending on what time of year you are here you might be able to experiment
with some fun flavours.
So this may be the coolest find of the day.
We are currently at the Yoshiki-en Garden (吉城園) which we just noticed on Google
Maps.
We were in the area so we're like let's go check it out.
And then we get there and we see that it is free for foreigner visitors.
Yeah.
And they hand us a map and really it is like 3 different gardens.
You have a pond garden, a moss garden and a flower garden.
It is beautiful in here.
It is so beautiful.
It is like postcard perfect Japan right behind me.
Okay so we've had a few snacks although there is still more to come.
Right now we're going to take a little break and feed some of the deer because it is right
around lunchtime and I'm sure they are hungry.
I'm sure they are.
Having fun Audrey?
No.
Hahaha.
No?
They are coming.
My dress is flying everywhere.
Haha.
And now Sam is buying more crackers for the deer because mine didn't last very long.
Let's see if he gets attacked like I did.
Bow for it.
Bow.
Hahaha.
The deer in Japan are really polite so many of them bow right before you feed them.
Bambi.
Are you hungry Bambi?
You have to bow.
Yes.
Good Bambi.
One more time.
One more bow.
(Speaking Japanese)
(Yelling and grunting)
Maybe the most all-time coolest demonstration ever in the history of the world.
Oh my gosh.
So the mochi men they were just like pounding and chanting.
Yep.
There was a crowd gathered around.
So yeah this is freshly made.
Um and if you haven't had mochi (もち) before it is basically a sticky glutinous rice.
Yep.
Stuffed with a red bean paste.
So yeah I'm just going right in.
Normally they are round but I've been carrying these and they are freshly made so they've
lost their shape.
I could be wrong about this but I think it is mugwort that gives it that green-ness.
Let's see.
I thought it was green tea.
It is not green tea.
Give it a try.
Mmmm.
Is it good?
Look at that.
You can see the bean paste in there.
And let me just say bean paste is surprisingly sweet.
In North America we eat beans savoury.
But this is like a dessert.
Yeah that is true in a lot of Asia.
They have it sweet.
I had sweet beans in Korea as well.
Uh huh.
It is common inside of like rice balls or steamed buns.
Mmmm.
How is that?
So good.
Do you like it?
It is so good.
And the price?
The price.
It was 130 Yen each.
Perfect.
So it was 260 for the two of them.
Mmmhmm.
For the second one.
Okay so next up what are we having?
We are having Takoyaki (たこ焼き).
Yes.
These are octopus balls.
And you can see they have little flakes on the outside and there is different sauces
so it should be good.
Oh bonito flakes.
Mmmm.
I like that it comes with a Japan flag.
They are hot.
Mmmm.
Oh yeah.
Those are good.
Mmmm.
Oh I really like those.
This is my first time to have one.
How would you describe them.
Oh my gosh well they are kind of savoury and sweet and like there is just a different textures
to them.
There is the sponginess of the outside and inside is a gooeyness.
And so it is just a really interesting combination.
Alright and the Takoyaki (たこ焼き) is almost gone but tell us the price.
We forgot to mention it.
It is a great deal.
You get 3 balls for 130 Yen. 130 Yen.
You could just go nuts on those.
Hahaha.
Next up we are having sushi.
When we arrived in Nara we walked passed this shop that had these beautiful boxed sets.
And you get each individual piece of sushi wrapped in a persimmon leaf so it is a beautiful
presentation.
Yeah.
And we got the box that has both mackerel and salmon.
Yeah.
Voila!
A little pricey.
Uh what was it uh a 1300 Yen.
Yes.
A bit more than that for 8 pieces.
But we're going to enjoy it.
It is all about presentation guys.
Yes it is.
So I'm going to open my first piece.
Let's see what this is.
Oh, salmon first one is salmon.
Mmmm.
Oh wow.
Is that good?
That is good.
That is fresh.
That is worth the price huh?
And that is sticky rice.
Yum yum.
So since you tried the salmon I will try the mackerel.
Mmmhmm.
Oh you are right it just tastes so fresh and you can just tell the quality of the rice
and the fish is so good here.
Mmmhmm.
Wow.
That is delicious and the presentation is exquisite.
So next up Sam is trying the Nara Dorayaki (どら焼き).
Yeah.
And it is basically a red bean pancake.
Yeah.
And yeah this will be our last street food item of the day guys.
A little dessert.
We've been gobbling up quite a bit.
So as you can see it looks like a pancake.
Just struggling to get it out.
It very much looks like a pancake.
Nice.
Voila.
Okay, okay let's rip that in half so you can see.
Oh.
Look at all of the bean.
That looks fluffy.
It does.
Mmmmm.
That is really good.
It is sweet but it is not as sweet as I thought it might be.
Yeah.
Which is nice.
You taste a bit more of the beans that way.
Mmmhmm.
And the pancake is super fluffy on the outside.
It is uh a little bit moist.
And this was a 118 Yen.
Yes, that is right.
It is a good price.
Alright so that is a wrap.
That is a wrap.
That is our day in Nara (奈良市).
We had like a fabulous day.
That was just so much fun.
Yes.
It was just like a nice combination of nature and deer and temples and great street food.
It was just such an awesome trip.
Like I couldn't recommend coming here more highly.
Honestly.
So if you're staying in Osaka or Kyoto and you're looking for a really cool day trip
consider Nara (奈良市) and we hope you guys enjoyed our Nara Travel Guide we'll see
you in the next video.