Location: Nara Prefecture
Top Things to do in Nara Prefecture
The 10 Best Things to Do in Nara Prefecture, Japan
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
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.
2. Hasedera Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 254 reviews
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
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 179 reviews
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
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.
5. Kinpusenji Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 189 reviews
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.
6. Asuka-dera
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 130 reviews
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
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 74 reviews
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
Overall Ratings
4 based on 203 reviews
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
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4 reviews
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
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 237 reviews
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.
