Probably you will not notice that you have visited a park. Nara park is an urban park located in the city center of Nara, prefectural capital of prefecture which has the same name, Nara prefecture. Nara prefectural government office is located just across a street.
Nara park is 502ha and opened in 1880. The park is one of the "Places of scenic beauty" similar to national monuments, owned by Japanese government but administrated by Nara prefecture. Nominally the park includes the adjacent Todaji temple, Kofukuji temple, Kasuga-taisha shrine and Nara National Museum and the total area is roughly 660ha. Therefore there are numerous numbers of national treasures and World heritage sites.
Nara park is a must place to visit for tourists visiting Nara and approximately 1200 deer are living in the park. Deer can be found not only on grasses but also on sidewalks. Deer are also crossing the streets where automobiles are running. There are many stands selling deer crackers; baits for deer. Therefore if you have these baits in your hands, please be careful against the attack of deer!