The 10 Best Things to Do in Nara Prefecture, Japan

February 19, 2018 Hana Mouser

Nara Prefecture (奈良県, Nara-ken) is a prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The capital is the city of Nara. Nara Prefecture has the distinction of having more UNESCO World Heritage Listings than any other prefecture.
Restaurants in Nara Prefecture

1. Nara Visitor Center & Inn

3 Ikenocho, Nara 630-8361, Nara Prefecture +81 742-81-7461
Excellent
85%
Good
14%
Satisfactory
1%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5 based on 228 reviews

Nara Visitor Center & Inn

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.

2. Hasedera Temple

731-1 Hatuse, Sakurai 633-0112, Nara Prefecture +81 744-47-7001
Excellent
59%
Good
38%
Satisfactory
3%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 254 reviews

Hasedera Temple

Hase-dera is also nicknamed a flower 's temple, so it came to be called so because flowers do not go through throughout the year like cherry blossoms, peony, hydrangeas, autumn leaves in autumn. As I go through the mountain gate, I climb a long corridor called Erawing, and in Nara I can visit the main hall (Kannondo) next to Todaiji Temple. There will be a big Kannon exceeding 10 meters. The view from the outside stage where the three sides are surrounded by Mountains is a word of great view.

Reviewed By Tweetcoz - Melbourne, Australia

We did a loop from Nara to Mt Yoshino to Muro dam to Muroji then lastly to Hasedera and back to Nara.
We hired a car and it was worth the 500 yen pp to enter this temple and 500 yen for car parking.
Steps under a beautiful wooden covered walkway to the top temple and the balcony at the top offers a magnifier view over the tree tops and surrounds.
There's 2 ways down. The longer way takes you to a Pagoda. We took the shorter way as we were losing light.
The views from the bottom looking up is also gorgeous. All the magnificent colors.

3. Muroji Temple

78 Murou, Murou-ku, Uda 633-0421, Nara Prefecture +81 745-93-2003
Excellent
57%
Good
39%
Satisfactory
4%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 179 reviews

Muroji Temple

Reviewed By Chuzaa - Vancouver, Canada

This is one of the most beautiful mountain temples you can ever find in Japan. I have visited this temple three or four times in the past and it never ceased to amaze me with its beautiful temple buildings and the placement of each building in the mountain.
The Muro-ji Temple is located deep in Mount Muro of southeastern region of Nara Prefecture, but it is not too difficult to get there by the Kintetsu train and local bus. It is readily accessible.
To fully appreciate this mountain temple complex, I highly recommend you to have an overnight accommodation near the gate of the temple and spend at least one full day here. Visiting most temple buildings requires at least half a day of your time, but that’s too much of a rush. Further, there are few other interesting spots to visit in this neighbourhood. If you happen to be at a time of the year, you may be able to enjoy either flowers of the mountain or autumn colours.
The temple’s most elegant entity is its five-storied pagoda. It is subtle and beautiful with a height of only 16 meters (about 50 feet). Amazingly it was built in the early Heian Period (794-1185) is more than 1,200 years old and the second oldest five-storied pagoda in Japan only after that at the Horyu-ji Temple also in Nara Prefecture.
The temple complex has several marvelous wooden images of Buddha. Three of them are national treasures of Japan. Other national treasures in this temple complex include the aforementioned five-storied pagoda, the Hon-do (Main) Hall, and the Kon-do (Golden) Hall.

4. Horyu-ji Temple

1-1 Horyuji Sannai, Ikaruga-cho, Ikoma-gun 636-0115, Nara Prefecture +81 745-75-2555
Excellent
60%
Good
31%
Satisfactory
7%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 482 reviews

Horyu-ji Temple

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.

5. Kinpusenji Temple

Yoshinoyama, Yoshino-cho, Yoshino-gun 639-3115, Nara Prefecture +81 746-32-8371
Excellent
50%
Good
38%
Satisfactory
10%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 189 reviews

Kinpusenji Temple

Reviewed By hfot2 - Vermont

Kinpusenji, the main temple in Yoshino, is described as the second largest wooden structure in Japan, after Todaiji in Nara. 2014 was the 10th anniversary of its being granted Unesco World Heritage designation.
There is no photography allowed inside the main hall and since we were visiting Yoshino to see sakura and not temples per se, we did not pay to enter the fantastically large main hall - ¥500.
We did photo the Niomon - the massive wooden gate with its guardian statues. It was difficult to get a good angle to take a photo of the gate - the whole building was swathed in fabric for reconstruction.
At the back of the temple there was a grand sight of a large pagoda surrounded by lovely sakura in fulll bloom with many many photographers clicking away. Just beyond it, there is a long flight of stairs one can descend to get another photo angle on the temple and pagoda.
The grounds were particularly beautiful in sakura season and probably in koyo season as well. Unfortunately, everyone in Japan seemed to be visiting Yoshino the same day we were there at the beginning of the second week in April.

682 Asuka, Asuka-mura, Takaichi-gun 634-0103, Nara Prefecture +81 744-54-2126
Excellent
50%
Good
40%
Satisfactory
10%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 130 reviews

Asuka-dera

Reviewed By BryanBaier - Nara, Japan

This is the oldest temple in Japan, the start of Japanese Buddhism and the beginning of the art of Buddha statue construction in Japan by Japanese artists. It was constructed more than 1400 years ago and has endured fires, earthquakes, typhoons and many other tests that time creates. The temple is small and doesn't require a great deal of time to see everything but the impact of the temple's history and importance is powerful

7. Tamaki Shrine

1 Tamaigawa, Totsukawa-mura, Yoshino-gun 647-1582, Nara Prefecture +81 746-64-0500
Excellent
69%
Good
29%
Satisfactory
2%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 74 reviews

Tamaki Shrine

Reviewed By Bob S - Olathe, Kansas

My grandson and I followed our guide up the long pleasant walk and steps to the Shrine. On our tour we were not allowed to go into the shrine so it was just the walk and the guides lecture. Hopefully your guide will be easier to understand. As with many Nara attractions the park contains many small deer to see and feed.

8. Kashihara Jingu

934 Kumecho, Kashihara 634-0063, Nara Prefecture +81 744-22-3271
Excellent
30%
Good
51%
Satisfactory
17%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4 based on 203 reviews

Kashihara Jingu

Reviewed By GVancouver - Vancouver, Canada

We literally stumbled on Kashihara Shrine by mistake. We intended to rent bikes in Asuka but they were too expensive, so opted to walk around instead. We followed the signs from Asuka station. Kashihara Shrine is about a ten minute walk from the station.
The grounds are massive and well maintained. The temple itself is relatively modern, but still beautiful. It is surrounded by acres of forested park.
Would we have made a special trip to see it? Probably not. But we were happy to have stumbled across it.

9. Todai-ji Temple

406-1 Zoshicho, Nara 630-8211, Nara Prefecture +81 742-22-5511
Excellent
69%
Good
26%
Satisfactory
3%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 4 reviews

Todai-ji Temple

Reviewed By Maggie O - Sydney, Australia

This is a must see. Well worth the walk around to see everything. There are lots and lots of deers walking around, so watch where you walk for they just relieve themselves everywhere. Use a disinfectant wipe if you decide to pat them. Wear comfortable shoes. Your camera will be working overtime. The Temple is fantastic.

10. Omiwa Shrine

1422 Miwa, Sakurai 633-0001, Nara Prefecture +81 744-42-6633
Excellent
54%
Good
37%
Satisfactory
8%
Poor
1%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 237 reviews

Omiwa Shrine

Reviewed By AsukaSaki - Osaka

Omiwa Shrine was built directly at the foot of Miwa-yama (467-meter-high Mount Miwa), and is one of the oldest extent Shinto shrines in Japan. The shrine has a worship hall, but no place for the deity to be housed, because it is believed to serve Miwa-yama itself.
We can find a big torii gate with a height of 32 meters, the second highest in Japan, on the national highway 169. A gravel approach lined with Japanese cedars, pine and camphor trees led us to a sacred compound of the shrine.
There are not only a lot of free parking lots but fine and affordable local cuisine restaurants around the big torii gate. We had a grated yam over rice for lunch after praying for our good luck.

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