Introduction: Nara Travel Guide
Nara is the capital of the Prefecture of Nara, in south-central Honshu. The city has significant temple complex, artwork and landmark dating back to the 8th century, when Nara was Japan’s capital.
Deer roam free in Nara Park, site of Tōdai-ji temple. A 15m-tall bronze Buddha statue of Daibutsu Tōdai-ji is displayed in a large wooden hall. On the park’s east side is located the Shinto shrine Kasuga Taisha, which dates to 768 A.D. and more than 3,000 lanterns.
Table of Contents
Getting there
To get to Nara, you can ride on the Kintetsu-Nara Line. There are a lot of daily departures from Tsuruhashi station. It takes almost an hour to reach Nara.
You will get out at the Kintetsu-Nara station, from there it’s a 10min walk to a beautiful and massive Nara park where all the highlights of the day are.
Lunch break
Right in front of Mt. Wakakusa is located a restaurant on 2 floors. It is called “Hakuginya”. We ate there and honestly the food was yummy and affordable. We tried the Soba Noodles (which are made of buckwheat and serve with a dipping sauce) and the Oyakodon (Rice bowl with chicken and eggs).
Things to do
Todai-ji Temple
Todaiji (東大寺, Tōdaiji, “Great Eastern Temple”) is a Buddhist temple complex located within Nara Park. It was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples. Until recently, Todaiji’s main hall, the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall), held the record as the world’s largest wooden building, despite the fact that the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple hall’s size
Over 8 complexes can be visited in Todaiji. To enter some of them a 600-yen fee is asked.
Nara Park
Nara Park (奈良公園, Nara Kōen) is a massive park established in 1880. Within its limits many landmarks can be found such Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji and the Nara National Museum. It is also home to over 1000 deer roaming freely, begging for shika senbei, special crackers for deer that are sold for around 200 yen.
Where to Stay
To visit Nara, we stayed in Osaka which was the central city between Nara, Kyoto and Kobe. But if you want to stay in Nara:
- Budget: Guesthouse Yoshikawa
- Mid-Range: Wakasa Annex
- Luxirious: Noborioji Hotel Nara
能ある鷹は爪を隠す – Nô aru taka wa tsume wo kakusu – The skillful hawk hides its talons
