WHY NARA SHOULD BE ON YOUR JAPAN BUCKETLIST | Cute Deer, Amazing Temples + Traditional Japanese Food

foreign [Music]   ERS good morning and welcome to Japan's first  capital city my friends we are here in Nara this   is my first time here and from First Impressions  I will say that I'm a bit surprised to see so   few foreign tourists here and it's such a shame  because there is so much culture and Heritage here   in Nara they also have some very cute uh welcome  greeters which we will meet in just a little bit   and it's just so easy to get here like I'm in  front of the uh Nara Jr station I came here from   Osaka on a rapid train that took 40 minutes cost  five dollars and it's basically the same thing   uh coming from Kyoto incredibly inexpensive to get  here super easy but it's definitely worth spending   more time in than just a day trip so in this  video I hope to convince you guys to come here   for longer uh than just the day because they're  is so much to see and to start off our time here   I want to take you to one of the most famous  Mochi shops I guess in the whole country they've   been making Mochi for a very long time in a very  traditional way so let's go check it out [Music]   yeah so as you guys can see it is absolute  chaos here but it's interesting because here   you can see their famous green tea Mochi  all freshly made looks amazing but they   also sell some different rice crackers here  which I didn't know I'll never forget when   I first came to Japan I thought that these  kinds of rice crackers were the strangest   sort of snack I really didn't like them  at first but then the more I tried them   I really started to like them like look at  all the different flavors that they have here   they have miso red perilla I don't even know  what that is wasabi Plum granulated sugar so   if you haven't had the Japanese style of  rice crackers before I would definitely   recommend you guys give them a go but we are  here for the Mochi so let's grab one of those legato oh my gosh guys they are so soft I don't think  I've actually had Mochi that is this fresh before   like it's literally like molding to my hands so if  you haven't had Mochi before it's basically like   short grain rice that has been pounded and in this  shop with a mallet like by hand until it becomes   this aerated glutinous sort of consistency that  they then usually put some kind of filling in I   don't know if this one is red bean that's what's  usually inside of them but uh let's give it a go hmm so it is red bean super good this  is the most traditional Mochi flavor I   believe which is green tea and red bean  on the inside but wow I have never had   Mochi this fresh before this must have been  made like an hour or two ago it is so good [Music] foreign [Music] as I can see right in front of me  the welcome Committee of Nara is   already out in full force and I must  say they're all exceptionally cute [Music] thank you [Music]   okay I got the deer crackers and  I think they already know they're   gonna swore me in just a second this might  be tricky to do while filming so let's try oh that's a very good bow thank you arigato okay you did such a good bow thank  you thank you yum yum yum yum yum bye hi arigato yeah no if I came to Japan and this was all I did  this was all I was able to see it's already   worth it what's interesting here is that it  is believed through the Shinto religion the   deers are actually messengers of the Gods  so deer are incredibly sacred well in all   of Japan but especially here in Nara because  they have been living amongst people for over   a thousand years now I'm honestly shocked  that they stay and that they're this same holy you were just like stalking me okay fine fine  there you go I'm scared of you foreign [Music] foreign [Music] you can buy food to go I think specifically  sushi but on the second floor they have a   restaurant and especially here in Nara they  use I believe persimmon leaf to wrap some   of their Sushi to make it last longer I don't  think I've ever seen that anywhere else hi hi this looks super good I think I made the  right choice many things that is so special   about Japan is just how they do these like  food sets of all these specialty items all   arranged so beautifully it really is a work of  art how perfect does this look friends this is   just magical and right off the bat I want to tell  you that this was only only 20 Canadian dollars   about 15 us and I feel like that's incredibly  reasonable for the beautiful presentation and   quality of food as I was saying before this  is the traditional types of sushi that they   have here in Nara and it's great because for  us foreigners they actually give you sort of   infographic you know that you should not eat the  big leaves but it's okay to eat the smaller one   it says if you eat it with the leaves the scent  of cherry blossoms will fill your mouth so that   is that guy right there so first and foremost  let's try the tempura because you should eat it   first since it's not as good when it's cold and  you just dip it in the sauce that they give you it's just so light like that's the difference  that I see in North America is that the tempura   batter that they do is just very heavy it  literally is just like a deep deep fried   thing and all you taste is the deep fried part  but here it's just like a crust it's just this   really light buttery sort of crust and it is  delicious and then the other must to try is this   Sakura Sushi or so they say this is the kind  where you can eat the leaf so let's give it a try I'm not sure how I would summarize  that tasting to be honest but it's very   very fresh and almost has a bit of a plum taste  to me I don't know if that's a part of the leaf   flavor or what it is but very good very different  I can't say I've had anything like that before oh foreign [Music] foreign [Music] thank you foreign of this epic day I think it is fitting  for us to go to this amazing Lookout   Point called Mount wakakusa the only thing  I'm a little concerned about is that I saw   one article that said it was closed  for the winter season but on Google   Maps reviews people have been posting in  the last while so hopefully it is open thank you it is like I feared guys there is a sign here that  says closing period December 12th to March 17th   we're like a week out oh that sucks but you  know it is what it is I wanted to put this in   the video so that you guys know that if you come  and it's not the closing season make sure you go   up to this mountain because it is supposed to  have a spectacular view there's more deer that   live up here and it's just a beautiful place to  watch the sunset so that is it my friends what   a spectacular time here in Nara you all know  this is totally the kind of stuff that I love   anything that involves cute animals that are just  like roaming around doing their own thing I don't   really want to go see them if they're like in  a cage and not living their best life I really   get the feeling that these deers are living their  best life they can still go anywhere they want but   they can also have treats whenever they want so I  hope you guys enjoyed this video let me know your   thoughts in the comments have you been to Nara  what was some of your favorites here I will be   off to Kyoto next I have been twice before in the  past but it was a long time ago so I'm sure things   are at least a little bit different now the stay  tuned for that as always I'm sending you so much   love I hope you're having a fantastic day and keep  being your own kind of beautiful bye guys [Music]

Channel: Alina Mcleod

Views: 255,572

Keywords: nara japan, travel nara, nara deer, deer in japan, nara city tour, travel japan, japan 2023, kansai region japan, japan bucketlist, japan travel tips, nara temples, japanese food, mochi japan, spring in japan, solo travel japan, best places to visit in japan, explore japan, arigato japan, kawaii japan, kawaii deer, digital nomad japan, alina mcleod, central japan, nara day trip, what to do in nara, nara attractions, todaiji temple, cherry blossoms japan

Id: 4hNL3agPSvc

Length: 14min 48sec (888 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 02 2023