There is a rather popular opinion that deer were put to roam streets of Nara as a pure tourist attraction. Well, there is a grain of truth in it. The city does cash out on deer as they drive a constant flow of tourists, but deer have been there way before the first foreign tourist ever set his foot on Japanese land.

So, why deer? Why in Nara? Where did they come from in such numbers? And what’s so special about them, anyway? Let’s find out!

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