Nara

Nara (奈良市) is an ancient capital city in Nara Prefecture, Kansai region of Japan. Overshadowed by its more famous neighbor Kyoto, Nara is omitted from many a time-pressed tourist's itinerary. However, Nara is home to many important scenic and historical sites, and today preserves its main sights much more attractively than Kyoto within Nara Park and neighborhoods like Naramachi. In addition to lovely foliage and many old buildings, Nara Park is famous for deer—hundreds of them that have become very comfortable around people and can be fed and petted.

Understand
Along with the development of Heijōkyō (平城京), the capital of Japan between 710-784 AD, Nara flourished under the influence of Buddhism, leading to the creation of an enormous number of cultural assets, buildings and books, many of which are preserved today. Nara has the most buildings designated National Treasures in Japan.

While the Heijō Palace (平城宮) site turned into plain fields after the capital was moved to Kyoto, the shrines and temples were left on the east side of the palace (called Gekyo (外京)), and Buddhism remained influential throughout the following centuries. Another part of the area developed as a merchant town, notably in the Edo period, known as Naramachi (奈良町) today.

Eight places in the old capital Nara have been inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara" since 1998, including five Buddhist temples, one Shinto shrine, an imperial palace and a primeval forest.

Visitor information
There are several tourist information centers.



Tourist information sites

 * The local tourist association has a multilingual guide site.
 * City government website

By plane
Nara does not have its own airport; most visitors arrive via either Kansai International Airport or Osaka's Itami Airport, for domestic flights.

From Kansai Airport, Airport Limousine buses run to the two Nara train stations every hour (90 min, ¥2100). More frequent service is available by rail: if you have a Japan Rail Pass, you can take the Haruka limited express to Tennoji station and then transfer to the Yamatoji line for the run to Nara (about 80 min, ¥2400 without a rail pass). Otherwise, it's cheaper to take the Nankai Railway's Kūkō-Kyūkō (空港急行) express train to Shin-Imamiya, and then take the JR Yamatoji line from there (about 95 min, ¥1500).

From Itami Airport, it's easier to take a bus, which departs for Nara every 1-2 hours (60-70 min, ¥1510).

By train
From Kyoto Station, the JR Nara Line and the private Kintetsu Kyoto Line will get you to Nara quickly. The Kintetsu Nara Station is closer to Nara's main sights than the JR Nara Station, and all-reserved tokkyū (特急) limited express trains leave Kyoto twice an hour, making the run to Nara in 35 minutes. On slower but more-frequent kyūkō (急行) services, the trip takes about 50 minutes and you may need to change trains at Yamato-Saidaiji Station. The trip costs ¥640, plus ¥520 extra if using the limited express.

The JR route from Kyoto to Nara is a little slower, but is the most attractive option for Japan Rail Pass holders. Be sure to use the rapid services, known as Miyakoji Kaisoku (みやこ路快速), which run during midday hours and take 45 minutes. Regular local trains, on the other hand, can take around 80 minutes. Without a pass, the JR trip costs ¥720.

A few Kyoto subway trains on the Karasuma line (running north-south) run directly to Kintetsu Nara, offering one-seat rides for those coming from the northern part of Kyoto city. These trains are designated as express trains to Nara - running local through the subway, then continuing to Nara as an express service. For example, a one-seat journey to Nara from Kyoto's Shijō subway station (connection with the Hankyu Railway) costs ¥900 and takes around 55-60 min.

The fastest route from Osaka is to take the private Kintetsu Nara Line from Osaka-Namba Station, which also affords a pretty nice view of Osaka as it climbs out of the city. Kaisoku-Kyūkō (快速急行) trains run a few times per hour to Kintetsu Nara (35-40 min, ¥570). A few limited express services sometimes run over the route for an additional charge of ¥520. For Japan Rail Pass holders, JR runs up to three Yamatoji Kaisoku (大和路快速) trains each hour from Osaka, Tennōji, and intermediate stations on the Osaka Loop Line. The run to Nara is 45 minutes from Osaka Station and 30 minutes from Tennōji (¥810 and ¥470 respectively without a rail pass). From Shin-Osaka (the Shinkansen station), Nara can be reached in around 65 minutes via the JR Osaka Higashi Line with a change at Kyūhōji, or by taking a JR train to Osaka Station and transferring to the Yamatoji Kaisoku (¥940 without a rail pass).

Hanshin offers services from Kobe-Sannomiya Station to Kintetsu Nara via the Hanshin Namba line. Direct Kaisoku-Kyūkō services leave three times per hour during most of the day. The trip takes 80-90 minutes and costs ¥980.

If traveling between Kyoto, Nara and Osaka, consider purchasing the Kansai Thru-Pass which enables unlimited travel for 2 or 3 days on private railways, buses and subways in the Kansai area (JR trains excluded).

By bus
A few companies operate direct overnight buses from Tokyo to Nara:
 * Kanto Bus and Nara Kotsu make the run to/from Shinjuku in around 7 hr 20 min with fares starting at ¥5980 each way.
 * Keisei Bus runs from Chiba (including Tokyo Disneyland), Tokyo SkyTree, Ueno and Yokohama. Trips from Ueno start at ¥7700 each way and take around 8 hours.

Other bus carriers, including JR Bus and Nightliner, operate overnight services from Tokyo to Nara by way of Kyoto, resulting in slightly longer travel times (8-9 hours). Some JR buses are Seishun (youth) buses with higher-capacity 2x2 seating configurations. These buses are much cheaper, with fares starting at ¥3500.

If you are unable to book a bus to Nara, an alternative is travel instead to Kyoto, where there are more options available. When you reach Kyoto, you can travel to Nara by train on either the JR Line or Kintetsu Line.

From Nagoya, Nara Kotsu runs five round-trips each day from the Meitetsu Bus Center (2 hr 30 min, ¥2700).

On foot
Once within Nara Park, you can walk to almost all the other major sites. The conventional round course (from Kintetsu Nara Station to Kōfuku-ji, Nara National Museum, Tōdai-ji, Kasuga Taisha and back to Kintetsu Nara Station) is about 6 km long, a pleasant walk for the typical tourist.

By bus
You can get a Nara Bus Pass for unlimited travel on Nara Kotsu and Nara Gurutto buses plus discounts on museum admissions. 1-day bus pass covering most attractions in Nara area costs ¥500 for adults and ¥250 for child.

Several temples are on the outskirts of town. Tōshōdai-ji, Yakushi-ji, and Horyu-ji are accessible from JR and Kintetsu Nara train stations without change by Nara-Nishinokyo-Ikaruga Excursion Bus line (Line No. 97).


 * Tōshōdai-ji (E-8) from JR and Kintetsu Nara stations (E-6, E-7), ¥240.
 * Yakushi-ji (E-10) from JR and Kintetsu Nara stations (E-6, E-7), ¥320.
 * Hōryu-ji (E-15) from JR and Kintetsu Nara stations (E-6, E-7), ¥760.

See also World Heritage Tour in Nara.

By taxi
Taxis are available at Nara but those who do not know Japanese may find it difficult to make the taxi driver understand where they want to go. You can hail a taxi through Uber app.

See
If you only have one day to spend in Nara, focus on Nara Park. With more time, though, there's more to see.

Nara Park
Most of Nara's sights, including temples, shrines and famously mercenary deer, are concentrated in Nara Park (奈良公園 Nara-kōen), a wide, pleasant space of greenery. According to legend, the god of the Kasuga Taisha came riding a white deer in the old days, so the deer enjoy protected status as envoys of the god; however, based on their current behavior, either the deer have lost the job, or the god has taken an extremely passionate interest in biscuits from tourists (¥200), empty food wrappers and harassing shopkeepers.



Other sights




Work
There are many English conversation schools near Kintetsu Station.

Buy
Narazuke (奈良漬), a local specialty pickle made of various vegetables and fruit and traditionally melon cucumber, is quite popular. The distinctive strong flavor comes from the use of sakekasu, the sediment of sake fermentation, and the pickle also has some residual alcohol. Nara is also famous for its calligraphy brushes, called narafude (奈良筆), which are available in the specialist stores on Sanjō-dōri Avenue. However, as these brushes are made with a special kind of animal hair, they are expensive and rare, and customers will need to make a specific request for them. Other brushes sold in the specialist stores will be less expensive than narafude, but still generally of reputable quality. Suitably, the city also has a famous tradition in producing ink sticks, or narasumi (奈良墨); in fact, Kobaien is considered to be the oldest ink shop in the country (founded 1577), and runs ink-making workshops where you can mix your own (it will be mailed to you once the drying process is complete). Lastly, Nara sarashi (奈良晒), or Nara fabrics are a local specialty. They used to be made of boehmeria variation plants in the older ages, but cotton has become the major material since Edo Period. Towels, handkerchiefs, blankets, blinds and many other cloth products can be found in stores on Mochiidono Shopping Street or in the Naramachi area.

One other unusual local specialty is chopsticks and other small objects carved from the sawn-off horns of the Nara Koen deer. They should be readily available from any tourist stall in the park, but for best selection and prices travel east from Todai-ji until you bump against the barren side of Wakakusa-yama and turn right - the entire right-hand side of the street is taken up by two-story shops, with souvenirs on the ground floors and shokudo (Japanese fast food restaurants) up top. Just follow the throngs of students being herded there for a bite after seeing the sights.

Eat


A local specialty is kaki-no-ha zushi (柿の葉ずし), which is sushi (usually mackerel or salmon) wrapped in persimmon leaves, and originates from nearby Yoshino.

Kudzu, also from Yoshino, is a very renowned product of Nara, which is used for making various food ranging from kudzu noodles (葛切り kuzu-kiri) to Japanese sweets (和菓子 wagashi). Somen (thin wheat noodles) from Miwa region (三輪そうめん Miwa sōmen) have a history as old as Nara. The noodles are served either hot or cold.

Another well-known culinary product is shika-senbei, a rice cracker sold around Nara Park. Don't try eating it yourself though &mdash; it's meant for the deer!





Take-out
You can take out kaki-no-hazushi, the persimmon leaf wrapped sushi, which is very popular for domestic travellers. There are three kaki-no-hazushi stores that can be easily spotted around Kintetsu Nara Station. Packages of various size and combination are available.



Drink
Yamato-cha (大和茶) is the locally produced Japanese green tea which is healthy and tasty. There are also numerous sake brands, among which is Harushika brand, produced by one of the oldest existing sake breweries in Japan.



Sleep
As usual throughout Japan, make your reservation as early as possible for August (the time of yearly vacations and Bon festivals, when it is customary for the Japanese to travel to their and their ancestors' birthplaces) and around Christmas and New Year, and also in early November, when Shosoin treasures are on display at the National Museum. Cheaper accommodation may sell out or raise prices.

Stay safe
The deer in Nara Park tend to be friendly and perhaps overly eager to eat shika-senbei biscuits from the hands of tourists - simply possessing some will inevitably attract a small crowd of five or six deer, whose extreme and single-minded interest in these biscuits and accompanying lack of respect for your personal space may well be a bit startling when experienced en masse. Don't be fooled by the publicity shots of the deer being happily petted: they can sometimes be aggressive in pursuit of those who have food while thoroughly uninterested in anyone who doesn't have any. Small children in particular may be frightened to have the suddenly manic deer coming after them, so it may be best to feed the deer yourself and let the kids watch. While in the Kasuga-yama forest, steer clear of any deer which still have their antlers. They can be aggressive and their antlers can injure you.

If you are allergic to pollen, beware: the heaviest cedar pollen fluctuation in this area is usually from mid-February to April.

Go next
As the center of a plain dense with history, Nara makes a good hub for exploring the vicinity.


 * If you have three days, consider doing the World Heritage Tour in Nara, which goes to Asuka, Hōryūji, and Yoshino.
 * Kashihara &mdash; the site of Japan's capital city, Fujiwarakyo (藤原京), before Nara.
 * Tenri
 * Ikoma
 * Uda
 * Sakurai
 * Yamatokoriyama
 * Kizugawa
 * Kasagi
 * Minamiyamashiro