As a chill settles into the autumn air, some people might already be dreaming of spring. It may warm their hearts to fantasize balmy breezes, green grass, and pink cherry blossoms.
Well, fantasize no longer.
Back in March, as the pandemic had people locked down in their homes across the globe, the Sika deer of Nara Park found themselves without human visitors to bow to, or to feed them.
Ikeda’s video, taken during a pre-wedding photoshoot, shows the deer idling in a pink, cherry blossom-covered paradise with spectacular pink canopies stretching overhead catching the sunlight above.
A splendid spring scene like nowhere else.
The Sika deer have made Nara Park famous, and have also captured hearts across the internet for having adapted the Japanese custom of bowing, adorably, which they do to “ask” tourists for deer crackers (sold in the park).
In March, when the lockdown had people shut in their homes, and the park was emptied of people, the deer were left crackerless, and they wandered into urban areas in search of food.
But as more people began to frequent the park again, so too did the Sika deer.
Photographer Ikeda hopes his photography will encourage more people to get out again to enjoy the park, and all of its beauty, or at least will bring some cheer to those still suffering from the lockdown blues.
