Nara Park (Nara Koen) is a large, pleasant park in central Nara, established in 1880. It is the location of many of Nara’s main attractions including Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji and the Nara National Museum, a museum specialzed in Buddhist art.
The park is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer. Considered messengers of the gods in Shinto, Nara’s deer have become a symbol of the city and have even been designated a National Treasure.