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| At Tobihino, the misty mountains in the back is Mt. Kasuga, World Heritage. |
There is nothing quite as exciting as a snow day, especially when you live in the area where it rarely snows in spite of the bitter cold. Can you imagine how I felt when I awoke to find the whole place outside covered with snow? I went to Nara Park to enjoy this blessing from the heaven.
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The first “torii”, a gateway at the entrance to Kasuga Grand Shrine (World Heritage)
in the grove of Kasuga
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| Serene, monocromatic world |
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| 100-year-old Nara Hotel beyond Ara-ike pond in the falling snow |
There was little appearance of deer. In Nara Park, there are approximately 1100 deer freely roaming. They are designated as a natural treasure for its unique habitat that they have lived so closely together with humans in spite of being wild animals. This has been developed over years since 8th century. Although they are partly fed in winter by Deer Protection Organization, snowfall makes it harder for them to find food on their own. Unaccustomed to snowfall, some looked perplexed, while some remained playful, to my impression.
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Not only the locals but also foreign tourists were joyful.
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| My favorite place, Sagi-ike Pond |
The next day, almost all the snow thawed,
but today (three days later) we have another snowfall.
A light dusting of snow is, indeed, a heavenly sight as your pretty pictures show. The deer being a natural treasure in the park is interesting since in some places on this planet people think there are too many and so some are killed during hunting season. It’s nice to see that they are protected in your world. :)
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are marvelous and how beautiful it is! I, too, am so glad the deer are protected and cared for in your world! Hope you have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
lovely photos. have a lovely week.
ReplyDeleteHi Yoko, I liked watching it snow in Nara! My favorite photo is the one of the bus crossing the bridge - I like that bit of red in your B & W world! Those deer have such expressive faces. Keep warm!
ReplyDeleteThe deer are so pretty Yoko, they have a slightly different look from the ones that roam here. Beautiful scenes!
ReplyDeleteDeers in Nara park are used to human. So some deer come to exercise in the ground of the near school in the early morning before children come to school,I heard.
ReplyDeleteWhat charming shots!
ReplyDeleteThe first snow in Nara city was very exciting for us. The contrast of the first red “torii” of the Kasuga Grand Shrine and white snow in beautiful! Stardust.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest with you I'm bit tired with snow and winter and can't wait to spring, but your photos are lovely. Snow and fog add a mystery to the landscape!
ReplyDeleteHave a great afternoon:)
Joo
I have never seen such an old hotel. Great pics from your part of the world. :)
ReplyDeleteFirstly, thank you so much for the kind words you wrote on my blog. As for each of our fathers, their love for us transcends space and time.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the protected deer, yours are very pretty and I'm happy it's the custom to live so close on friendly terms with them in Japan. As for me, I'm part Native American, have eaten deer jerky and venison meat, and am okay with hunting as long as the deerskin and meat are used for a good purpose and not wasted.
Japanese snowfalls are very beautiful on the landscape and with the architecture. I love how you desaturated all the colors except for red in some scenes.
P.S. Taking another look, I am seeing more color, but my eyes first are taken by the red, which gives a very nice effect. Also, wanted to say that the umbrellas in the snow are very cool!
ReplyDeleteWhen snow started falling, I was very glad "My world!! Snowwhite's world". But snow melted so soon in Nara. I realized people's sentiment towards snow is very different from place to place, but how much I loved this B&W world!.
ReplyDeleteI went out only once to take photos, I wish I could have visited more places!
My favorite is the second!! I love all of your photos!
Even though I live in Canada where we get a LOT of snow I still love feh-fallen snow. I think it's beautiful and I always feel it looks magical as in a fairytale. :)
ReplyDeleteOOPS! I meant fresh-fallen snow. (My fingers were being a bit overly creative, I fear.)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos. I haven't seen real snow yet. We have winter but we don't have snow in our area. Love all your beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteI used to live in Nara for 5 years. As far as i remember, winter in Nara is as cold as where we live now (Tochigi Prefecture) but did not have a snowfall as often as here. One of our cats with orange short hair was actually born in Nara!!
ReplyDeleteThe view of Nara park covered with a white and beautiful snow is stunning.
Thanks for sharing.
Yoshi
Hello, stardust.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful scenery.
Thank you for your visit.
Have a good weekend.
ruma
Thank you for the nice, encouraging comments.
ReplyDeleteI think I got inspired by snowfall. Will it snow again?
Although I'm enjoying autumn now, I can't wait for the first snow. I want to make snowmen and snow castles ^^
ReplyDeleteDeer totally charmed me. Seems they became fluffier for winter. Such cute cheeks!
Thank you once again, Yoko, for these magic moments!
Thanks for your visit to this snow world of Nara Park. Enjoy your autumn till "hatsuyuki", Ekaterina.
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