BootsnAll Travel Network



I hate Japanese Giant Flying Squirrels, don’t you?

I left Osaka last night on the last train to Nara, about 40 minutes away, and arrived just after midnight. Nearly tempted by the 5,000yen hotel across from the station, I decided to make the 2 kilometer walk to Nara park, the home to several world heritage sites, the cultural relics of Japan’s first official capital, and over a thousand mangy deer.

I’ve heard of the deer of Nara park several times, formulating an image of green grass, idyllic shrines, and the occasionally family of deer traipsing across the scene. My first encounter as I walked up the main road to the park was with a deer who was happily scattering trash across the sidewalk and into the street. I passed him and he barely batted an eye. Soon I could see in the open space to my right that the place is teeming with them. The field was scattered with dozens of sleeping mounds, making it clear that this would be a poor place to camp. As I walked further into the park the trees became more dense, and as the frightened deer started running away from this bizarre night walker, I realized they wouldn’t bother me if I set up camp for the night.

I found a nice spot free of deer shit behind a large tree located in a fence corner. This would keep me out of view from the early risers I’m sure walk the park every morning. Last night was clear as a bell and very cold, making me realize how much down my sleeping bag has lost. Just when I was about to drift off something jumped on my legs. I kicked and flailed a few seconds until I knew whatever it was had gone. But it wasn’t gone. My new friend had scurried up the tree and was now chirping loudly, alerting all its forest friends of the security breach. There was an intruder in the park tonight.

After about ten minutes of this racket I looked up in the tree to catch a glimpse of this thing. At this point I wasn’t sure if it was a bird or rodent, but then it flew to the neighboring tree through a shaft of moonlight, revealing its identity. It was a giant flying squirrel, or musasabi as it’s known in these parts.

It never occurred to me how lucky I was to see this little guy because he proceeded to chirp at me for the next two hours until being distracted by bigger matters, namely the fiery orb in the sky that was beginning to rise. That little asshole. I hate musasabi.

A couple motorbikes buzzed by an hour later letting me know that the land of the living was starting to stir. I got up and looked around at my surroundings for the first time in daylight. I had picked a beautiful place to set up camp, right next to the Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Strangely enough I felt rested and ready to start my day of exploring Nara. I packed up my bag and set off to find a locker to store my big bag for the day.

Musasabi



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