By YOSHINORI MIZUNO/ Staff Writer
July 10, 2025 at 17:03 JST
Deer stay cool under a mist-spraying device at Nara Park on July 9. (Yoshinori Mizuno)
NARA—Keen to beat the blistering heat, the famed deer of Nara Park are enjoying the cooling mist here just as much as the human visitors.
The park’s deer, which are protected as “messengers of the gods,” gathered below a mist-spraying device on July 9. Despite sudden thundershowers, the highest temperature in the city that day was just shy of 35 degrees.
Some of the animals lounged beneath the mist for some time, away from the scorching sun, while foreign tourists gathered around to take photographs.
Nara Park has installed mist devices at nine locations to keep visitors cool during the summer months.
Most of the devices will continue operating until Sept. 15, according to the park’s administrative office.
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