Location: Yamatokoriyama
Top Things to do in Yamatokoriyama
Top Restaurants in Yamatokoriyama
Countries
10 Things to Do in Yamatokoriyama That You Shouldn't Miss
Yamatokoriyama in Japan, from Asia region, is best know for Sacred & Religious Sites. Discover best things to do in Yamatokoriyama with beautiful photos and great reviews from traveller around the world here!
Restaurants in Yamatokoriyama
1. Horyu-ji Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 482 reviews
Reviewed By GVancouver - Vancouver, Canada
Horyu-ji's star attraction for tourists is the Five-Story Pagoda. It is truly iconic.
Take the JR Kansai line from Nara. From Horyu-ji Station you can walk to the temple grounds - about 15 minutes, or take the bus that drops you practically at the gate. Beware the schoolchildren. Horyu-ji is culturally significant so schools do day trips for students. Try get to Horyu-ji early in the morning before the school buses arrive.
A typical day trip from Nara includes taking the train from Nara to Horyu-ji, then bus to Yakushiji and Toshodaiji.
2. Koriyama Castle
Overall Ratings
4 based on 79 reviews
Reviewed By Ron S - New York City, New York
Beautifully restored two yagura (corner turrets) and the gates over original walls. If you go to the left of the entrance around the moat there's a ramp leading to the Citadel surrounded by the inner moat and impressive walls covered with vegetation. A short walk takes you to the main keep (tenshu) foundation which is off limits, but if you jump the rope and climb the steps to the top you'll get a very nice view of the town. If you walk around the inner moat you'll find the spot where the original bridge over the inner moat stood with a sign explaining the upcoming restoration of the bridge and the gate. The opening in the wall across marks the location of the gate. From there you can get to the library building where at the time they had a small exhibition on the founder of the castle, Tsutsui Junkei.
3. Nara Visitor Center & Inn
Overall Ratings
5 based on 228 reviews
Nara Visitor Center & Inn is located in the midst of Nara. Right on the edge of Sarusawa Pond, the location offers wonderful views of the changing seasons. Nara Visitor Center & Inn provides tourists visiting Nara a great place to relax and interact along with the opportunity to discover and experience the city’s cultural and sightseeing riches.
Reviewed By SydneyGlobetrotter09 - Sydney, Australia
Great location, 10-min walk from the Kintetsu station and easy walk to Nara Park and historic areas for shopping. Large room by Japanese standards (only downside is brick pillows and some carpet stains/dated fittings). Clean and quiet. Extremely friendly staff, very helpful and informative in English. Convenience store located on ground level of same building and several cultural activities on offer. Highly recommend.
4. Yatadera Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 40 reviews
5. Chuguji Temple
Overall Ratings
4 based on 106 reviews
Reviewed By James M - Boston, Massachusetts
Situated just to the east of Hōryū-ji, the main event at Chūgū-ji is one of the smallest, simplest and unassuming yet quietly beautiful buddha/bodisattva images in whole of Japan (Miroku Bosatsu == Sanskrit: Maitreya). It's a dark, moody camphor wood image of the Asuka period. The setting is also simple and beautiful. I've been there in sun and rain - nothing seems to add or take away from the special feeling here.
6. Todai-ji Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4 reviews
Reviewed By Hongkongboy55 - Richmond, Canada
No matter you are a Buddhist follower or not, this is a place that worth to visit. Built in Nara period, 710-749 AD, the temple was officially positioned as one of the state-established provincial temples. No need to worry about the deer wandering in the garden, they won't bother unless you want to buy biscuit for them to eat.
7. Jikoin
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 21 reviews
Reviewed By Sarah T - Okinawa, Japan
We visited this temple on a journey through Japan. The walk from the train station is nice but be warned, Google maps took us around to the backside of the property which is inaccessible. The photo of the entrance is below. The entrance is off a fairly busy street, so I’df you find yourself in a residential area, you are on the wrong side.
The tea ceremony was very simple, and though the staff don’t speak English, they are welcoming! They have some printed material in English to explain the basics of the background and purpose of the temple. It was a peaceful and lovely rest stop in our day, and photography is welcomed.
There was an elderly monk who enthusiastically showed us around in Japanese, and it was great fun to interact with one or 2 words of English thrown in occasionally to help us along. He was so pleased to show us around that the language barrier didn’t really matter.
8. Hokiji Temple
Overall Ratings
4 based on 56 reviews
Reviewed By ART196
Hōkiji was originally built in 606 as Okamoto Palace for Prince Shōtoku, who is a famous figure in Japanese history for his patronage of Buddhism and civilising edicts. In 622 it became a temple and in 638 high priest Fukuryo built the Hondō dedicated to Miroku-bosatsu (the bodhisattva who will exist in the future, or the next Buddha). High priest Ese began building the pagoda we see today in 685. The pagoda’s metal inscription was cast in 706 and archaeological discoveries validate the temple’s history. This makes the Sanjūtō (three-tier pagoda) VERY OLD. By the early Edo it was all what remained of the temple but Shinsei Ennin and his disciples restored the tower in 1678 and rebuilt the lecture hall in 1694. The Shotendō dates to 1863. The pagoda was last renovated in 1972-1975. Hōkiji is listed as part of the world heritage site which includes Hōryūji. With the age of Hōkiji’s venerable pagoda, its graceful form and rich Buddhist history, its contribution to global heritage is not overstated.
* some sources state Hōkiji’s pagoda as the oldest in the country, but up-to-date research demonstrates that the pagoda at Hōryūji is about a century older.
9. Nara Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4 reviews
Reviewed By Helen T
The deer are freely roaming around the park and you can buy a pack of crackers for 150 yen to feed them. They absolutely love them and prepare to immediately be surrounded buy potentially overly friendly deer to get them. They will bow for them as well which is quite cute. There are lots of nice trails around to walk and plenty of little shops and food places. Not too far from the station either
10. Toshodaiji Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 510 reviews
