Has anyone ever been to it? If so, is it a big festival or more like a cultural ceremony? It sounds pretty interesting, so I was thinking of going. I know it’s during the Sports Day 3-day weekend, but I’m closer to Tokyo, so I’m unsure if it’s a big enough event to spend shinkansen money on. I was looking for pictures of the event online, but predictably, it’s mostly the deer!
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I went (I think) this year. The event wasn’t massive but there was a wait.
Despite being not my cup of tea, it was culturally interesting but not like a full blown festival when I went – granted this was during COVID restrictions still. Personally I have no interest in going again but each to their own.
I would say it fits in to the “if I’m in the area it’s an interesting thing to do” kind of activity.
Not at all a big festival, just a ceremony for cutting the antlers. “Ceremony” because of the deer’s religious symbolism.
In terms of festivals in Nara-city, 燈花会 festival is pretty nice. Also the 山焼き is really quite nice, although that’s also not a really a festival.
So all in all probably not worth going for that alone, but if you visit Nara anyway then it might be worth.
Not related to your question but are deer okay with having their antlers cut?