Photos of Japan / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
| # | Name | At a glance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Todaiji's Great Buddha Hall, at opening | Doors open early, well before the tour buses and school groups… |
| 2 | Nigatsudo's veranda, at sunset | A free terrace on the hillside above Todaiji, looking over its… |
| 3 | Naramachi, on foot | A former merchant quarter of narrow wooden townhouses, sake… |
| 4 | Isuien and Yoshikien gardens, together | Two adjacent gardens walkable in under two hours, the first framing… |
| 5 | Toshodaiji and Yakushiji, in Nishinokyo | A short train ride from central Nara, both temples are consistently… |
| 6 | Shin Yakushiji | A small, quiet temple holding eighth century clay statues of the… |
| 7 | The Kasugayama forest trail | An eleven kilometer loop behind Kasuga Taisha through forest left… |
| 8 | Fujinami no ya, inside Kasuga Taisha | An Edo period hall with over a hundred lanterns lit every day of the… |
| 9 | The Shosoin Exhibition, if the dates line up | A two to three week window each autumn when roughly sixty of nine… |
| 10 | Yamanobe no Michi | Japan's oldest recorded road, a three to four hour walk past shrines… |
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01
Todaiji's Great Buddha Hall, at opening #
Doors open early, well before the tour buses and school groups arrive between ten and two. At opening, the hall and the deer outside it are nearly empty.
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02
Nigatsudo's veranda, at sunset #
A free terrace on the hillside above Todaiji, looking over its roofline and the park below, lit by lanterns after dark. Consistently named one of Nara's best views and one of its least crowded.
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03
Naramachi, on foot #
A former merchant quarter of narrow wooden townhouses, sake tastings, and a mochi shop known for pounding it by hand at speed. A different texture from the park and temples entirely.
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04
Isuien and Yoshikien gardens, together #
Two adjacent gardens walkable in under two hours, the first framing Todaiji's gate and a mountain as part of its own view. Check current admission, one garden is reportedly free for foreign passport holders.
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05
Toshodaiji and Yakushiji, in Nishinokyo #
A short train ride from central Nara, both temples are consistently quieter than Todaiji or Kofukuji. Yakushiji's east pagoda is the only building of its era to survive a 1528 fire.
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06
Shin Yakushiji #
A small, quiet temple holding eighth century clay statues of the Twelve Heavenly Generals, among the oldest surviving works of their kind in Japan, and rarely on a first visitor's list.
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07
The Kasugayama forest trail #
An eleven kilometer loop behind Kasuga Taisha through forest left untouched since a hunting and logging ban more than a thousand years ago, connecting to a hillside hike above the park.
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08
Fujinami no ya, inside Kasuga Taisha #
An Edo period hall with over a hundred lanterns lit every day of the year, giving a taste of the famous lantern festival without needing its exact dates.
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09
The Shosoin Exhibition, if the dates line up #
A two to three week window each autumn when roughly sixty of nine thousand imperial treasures, normally sealed in a Todaiji storehouse, go on public view. Check the current year's dates before planning around it.
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10
Yamanobe no Michi #
Japan's oldest recorded road, a three to four hour walk past shrines and ancient burial mounds, reached by a short, cheap train ride and carrying essentially no tour bus traffic.
Six people to follow before you go to Nara
- 1Nara Shimbun (@nara_np). The local Nara prefecture newspaper's own account, useful for regional news and event coverage in the absence of a confirmed individual reporter's own handle.
- 2ならまちさんぽ (@naramachi_). An Instagram account built specifically as a first timer's guide to Naramachi's streets, cafes, and walking routes.
- 3Yoko Ishii (@yoko_ishii_deer). A photographer with a years long documentary project on Nara's urban deer, published as a photobook and exhibited internationally.
- 4Nara Kotsu (@nara_kotsu). The main bus operator's own account, the practical source for service information around the city and to nearby sites.
- 5Bambitious Nara. The city's professional basketball team, playing locally at Rohto Arena Nara, worth a look if a game overlaps a visit.
- 6THE ORAL CIGARETTES. A rock band formed in Nara Prefecture in 2010, with two founding members born locally, one of the few nationally known acts with real Nara roots.