So as some of you may know, last year I had the opportunity to fly around various places in the world thanks to a dear friend.
My husband, who works as a full time therapist was not able to join me but we had planned to visit Japan at the end of the year. Well, the end of the year turned into the beginning of this year ^^. January was actually when he & I traveled to Japan four years ago, so it felt like we were reliving our memories despite going to mostly new places. ^^ One of the islands which we got to travel to was Miyajima.
Miyajima is an island close to Hiroshima. It is also known as deer island. Nara Deer Park is a popular spot to interact with deer, but as a traveler who loves islands and seeks more natural way to see animals, we opted to instead visit this island. The deer here all casually reside on the island alongside the local people. I want to share with you my personal experience from visiting the island, and the deer of course.
Shortly after arriving, we saw a few deer hanging out. Out of nowhere a man came out of his shop and threw out fried rice onto the floor. It was consumed very quickly.
The deer were calm & mild mannered. They didn't really approach the humans much; they seemed quite used to seeing people everywhere. I got lucky and had some interaction while changing film since I sat down at a location near them. A few would try to dig through my backpack, bring their cute faces near my film to see what I was doing. They probably wanted to know whether it was edible. Video on the bottom. ^^ While walking down alongside the ocean we saw one deer pester a local photographer from Miyajima, wanting to hang out with him. The photographer didn't want him around at the time.
These two deer must have received their food from this shop, because they stood at that storefront for as long as we hung out there. Perhaps they were the shop's guard-deer? :O
During the afternoon we sat on the some rocks and relaxed next to this fella.
To me it was such a beautiful scene to witness: humans and deer living alongside each other peaceably. I felt that the humans shared the space with the deer, and the deer too shared their space with the humans. Though the deer may sometimes seem bothersome (like the photographer getting annoyed by the deer, and the deer blocking store entrances), it's no doubt that humans appreciate the deers' presence. Those cute deer bring visitors, therefore business to the island. The deer help the island keep going. I can't imagine what it's like waking up, walking outside and being greeted by your local deer. It must be a sweet feeling, unless they just leave their droppings in front of your door ^^.
Next: Okunoshima, Bunny Island
M Kat