By MOTOFUMI WATANABE/ Staff Writer
July 19, 2020 at 07:00 JST
Deer unwind themselves under cherry blossoms in Nara Park in April. (Captured from Kiki Photo Work's YouTube video)
NARA--Otherworldly images of deer lounging beneath a sea of pink cherry blossoms captured here on the fly have turned a wedding photographer's video into an unexpected YouTube hit.
Kazuki Ikeda, 57, shot the video in Nara Park on his smartphone during a break in a wedding shoot in early April after spotting the herd relaxing on a carpet of fallen cherry blossom petals.
The video by the Kiki Photo Works photographer, who snaps wedding photos mainly in Nara before marriage ceremonies, went viral around the world after it was posted on Twitter.
Viewers quickly responded to the footage, likening the scene of deer to an “earthly paradise” or “the Buddhist paradise.”
Kiki Photo Works said it has already received an inquiry from an overseas media outlet about the video.
To allow more people to enjoy the video on a larger screen, the studio uploaded it on its YouTube channel on May 18.
The video has logged about 160,000 views.
The location where the video was shot is a little-known spot that sightseers rarely visit, and deer unwind there under cherry blossoms when the trees are in full bloom, according to Ikeda.
“The scene is a common sight for me that I come across every spring,” Ikeda said. “I was surprised it drew so much attention.”
Readers can check out the video at: (https://youtu.be/QXnDG6K4m40).
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