Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Oh Deer

I hope y'all aren't sick of Japan yet, because i still have some stuff to show and tell. On the home front, we survived Senior Prom this past weekend, but it was SO WEIRD seeing my tomboy geek daughter dressed all the hell up and looking incredibly beautiful.

Back to Japan:

The Mister and i visited Nara one day, where deer are considered sacred. They are all over the place. (This led me to wonder how many "incidents of unfortunate contact" occur between the deer and cars.)

Anyway, as i said, the deer are just wandering around in the street.

Every year (we read) the deer are rounded up and their antlers are sawn off. The brochure said that this is to avoid the deer hurting each other. I think this is to avoid the deer hurting people as they are pretty aggressive.

You can buy deer food from street vendors all over the place for 150 yen (about $1.50.) Here are some deer being aggressive. Wonder if her coat tasted good.

We were lucky enough to be there during cherry blossom season. The petals are falling like pink snow in this picture.

Of course there were signs telling us what not to do so as to avoid pissing off the deer. I did not see any deer that looked this angry, so whatever it was, we didn't do it.

Along the sidewalks there are traditional Japanese vendors selling yams baked in these portable wood burning ovens. The proprietress is talking on the traditional Japanese cell phone, somewhat ruining the anachronistic appeal of this scene.

This is the deer that caused me to finally give in to deer pressure and part with 150 yen for some deer wafers. Come on, BABY DEER!!! Tell me you could have resisted.

I believe this deer was posted there to help tourists find the bathrooms.

And hey, look at this! Meno pops her video posting cherry, takes a video of the deer and forgets to turn off the camera so you get to see her purse too. What could be better than that? C'mon, it's only 6 seconds long.

31 comments:

Diane Mandy said...

Never sick about hearing about Japan. I never knew deer were so prevalent there. Wow!

Say It said...

So, what did you have for dinner that night?

Girlplustwo said...

i LOVE hearing your Japan commentary. and i had no idea about the deer. none.

Clowncar said...

Deer pressure. Very funny.

As for your last post, there used to be Spanish language Raid ads in the subway in NYC, and to a non-Spanish speaker like me the pictures always made it look like Raid didn't kill roaches so much as paint them a saucy shade of red.

Keep the Japanese photos and commentary coming! See any shrines to Godzilla?

Mrs. Chili said...

Deer are sacred, huh? I did not know this (of course, there's a LOT I don't know about Japan, so it's all new to me; keep it coming!).

jaded said...

Few women can work the phrases deer pressure and video posting cherry into the same post.

I bet Em looked striking.

BTW, what in the hell is going on with blue denim shirt guy's left ear?

Stucco said...

What's to stop you from just taking a big ole bite o'deer when they are so close?

ETK said...

I too would have caved for the BABY DEER!!!! OMG - it's so sweet!!

TTQ said...

My Brother in law got hit by a deer crossing the street leaving from a football game in the
DC area. My brother in Law was on foot.

That was freaking hilarious to me. Maybe she will do a guest blog for me and tell the whole story.

My neice had her Senior Prom this past weekend too. I haven't posted her picture yet, but I probably will. She's pasted all over myspace.

TTQ said...

she being my sister not my brother in law. Sorry I'm on pain meds this week..

Anonymous said...

I would have caved on that baby deer - totally. You are not alone.

flutter said...

Oh yeah that baby deer would have kicked my ass.

Tink said...

I would never get bored of hearing about Japan. Every time you post something new I find myself saying, "No way!" out loud. I mean deer, roaming free, in PUBLIC? How cool is that?!

meno said...

diane, only in Nara, not all over Japan.

say it, i suppose i should say venison. :)

jen, they are SO CUTE. Like the monkeys.

clowncar, glad you caught that. No Godzilla shrines. I think we just didn't visit the right places.

patches, i an an Amazon woman. His ear is ugly, and there is something behind him too.

stucco, fear of parasites?

etk, and the baby was so gentle. I was powerless.

ttq, heh, i look forward to the rest of the story.

qt, i was a melted puddle of woman over the baby.

flutter, what could i do, he/she was hungry.

tink, it was VERY cool. Deer, roaming in public. Yeah!

Sienna said...

How beautiful, I didn't realise about the deer, (roaming the streets).. but I love it. Really am enjoying the Japanese tour, please don't stop, you have a great perspective, I'm kinda laughing so much and learning...I must find my photo my niece has sent of this garden from Japan, it takes my breath away, not in the cigarette way, but beautiful.

Thanks so much again.

Pam

Anonymous said...

In India, it's the cows that are sacred. Would be odd to see them talking around too.

Mona Buonanotte said...

Those deer are SO cute, but I'll bet Em was cuter! Don't we get a photo of her?

I want a yam-seller on my streetcorner. Seriously.

furiousBall said...

i'm glad the deer didn't shoot lightening bolts out of their antlers at you

Dick said...

Kind of reminds me of Oatman, AZ where the burros roam all over town, begging carrots from tourists. The deer are smaller and cuter, though.

crazymumma said...

nice camera work. call it an arthouse film.

I am not tired of Japan, but I would love to see a picture of your daughter in prom regalia.

Liv said...

all i can think is that i had two windows open and thought i was reading maggie's blog when i realized she didn't have a girl old enough to go to senior prom. don't judge. my brain farted.

meno said...

pam, the deer are only roaming around in Nara, not in all of Japan. Glad you are enjoying the tour.

franki, it would be odd to see them TALKING. Where is it that pigs are sacred. We could have deer, cows and pigs all milling around.

mona, no, no photo of my daughter. Sorry. The yams looked good. I didn't get one because i wasn't hungry and they were HUGE.

furious, would that make them Pokemon? Deerachoo?

dick, i'll have to visit Oatman. Or you will have to post some pictures of it.

crazymumma, i had just discovered the video function on my camera, as you can tell.

liv, no worries. I can't keep everything in my life straight either. Happy Bithday!

sari said...

Oh my gosh, I LOVE the signs there. Hysterical!

Unknown said...

Reminds me of Estes Park out here, where the elk roam the streets in packages of half-ton aggression...

Brad said...

Hi Meno - sorry I've been such a bad blogger - things are a bit nuts right now - I promise to improve soon - thanks for stopping by

egan said...

The Japan series must live on. I like the big word you used to describe the woman and her oven. Very big word there.

It's too bad they don't understand the joy of hunting deer. It's a tremendous thrill to kill a deer for sport. (before anyone gets angry with me, I'm only kidding)

Lynnea said...

I love deer. Especially the baby ones. But I'm not keen to get near enough to one that it needs to have its antlers sawn off.

"Please do not piss off the deer."

:)

100 Thoughts of Love said...

cute baby deer....cute purse too...

Anonymous said...

LOL ~ TALKING would be downright crazy. that's what I get for reading blogs after wine:thirty.

Anonymous said...

"deer pressure" That's awesome. You rock. I love these photos!

Robin said...

heretofore, i've had no desire to visit japan. i now think i MUST go just to see their signs!! are you sure the japanese tourism board isn't paying you a little sumthin' sumthin?