Model Course

Gango-ji Temple

This edifice used to be a part of the priests' living quarters of the Gango-ji Temple, and was reconstructed as its main hall (National Treasure) and Zen hall (National Treasure) in the Kamakura period (1192-1333). The temple has attracted commoners since the Middle Ages. Numerous stone Buddhas and folk materials were discovered in the precincts. Thanks to the grand repair from the 25th to 29th year of Showa (1950-1954), we can enjoy appreciating the temple structures at the time of the Kamakura period's reconstruction. In the storehouse are a small wooden five-storied pagoda (National Treasure), a wooden sitting statue of Amida Buddha, Chiko Mandala, an abundance of articles on folk belief, and so on. (10 minutes' walk from Kintetsu Nara Station)

Koshin-do

A blue-faced Kongo statue called ``Koshin-san'' is enshrined here. This amulet in the shape of a monkey used by Mr. Koshin is often hung from the eaves of houses in Nara Town as a talisman. It is called the ``Substitute Monkey'' because it can receive disasters on your behalf. Also, it is said that if you write a wish on its back and hang it up, your wish will come true, and it is also called a ``wishes''.

Jurin-in Temple

Jurin-in Temple is a temple dedicated to Emperor Gensho and is the Genshi-in Temple of Gango-ji Temple. The stone Buddhist niche (important cultural property) enshrined within the main hall (national treasure) is a rare piece with reliefs of standing statues of Jizo Bodhisattva, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Maitreya Bodhisattva.

Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie (Naramachi Traditional House)

Naramachi Nigiwai-no-Ie (Naramachi Traditional House) is a reformed 100-year-old townhouse with a tea ceremony room, hearth, and passage garden. It is a facility where you can experience the lifestyle and culture of the time.

Naramachi Lattice House

Naramachi Kōshi-no-ie House is a reconstruction of a traditional townhouse in Nara City. You can directly experience the lifestyles in those townhouses and lean about the way townspeople lived.

Naramachi-Karakuri Toy Museum

Naramachi-Karakuri Toy Museum is located in one of Naramachi’s traditional townhouses, and it is an interactive facility where one can actually touch and play with the traditional toys.

Shika no Fune

The Nara Town Minami Tourist Information Center "Shika no Fune" is open as a complex with a tourist information center, a cafeteria, and a café. It was built in the early Taisho period as a branch of Katsumura Shoten, a mosquito net manufacturer, and after the war, Mr. Naega opened a clinic. The building, which has been loved by the local people for many years, was renovated in 1995 and is now being operated as a facility that helps local residents and citizens to understand mutual understanding of international culture while promoting the local area.