Tourist attractions / Experience spots

Todai-ji Temple

Todai-ji Temple, known for its "Daibutsu-san," or Great Buddha, is a representative temple in Nara, with an imposing appearance of the largest wooden structure in the world. This is a famous temple...

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 lifest...

Himuro-jinja shrine Nara

It is said that the festival dates back to the Nara period, when ice ponds and icehouses were built in Kasugano with the transfer of the capital to Heijo, and rituals were held to enshrine their gu...

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 pe...

Toshodai-ji Temple

This temple was founded in the 3rd year of the Tempyo era(759) by the Chinese Buddhist priest Ganjin Wajo, who, with the invitation of Emperor Shomu, came to Japan after going through all sorts of ...

Kohfukuji Temple - Kohfukuji National Treasure Hall

With the statue of the Thousand-armed Kannon (Avalokitesvara bodhisattva) at its heart, this hall houses and exhibits historical materials that tell the history of Kohfukuji Temple, such as Buddhis...

Kohfukuji Temple - Tokondo Hall (East Main Hall)

Built in 726 by Emperor Shōmu as an invocation for his aunt’s complete recovery from illness. Including the principle object of worship, the statue of the Yakushi Nyorai, or Bhaisajyaguru (Na...

Enjo-ji Temple

It is one of the most famous temples on the Yagyu Kaido Road, and the main hall is Muromachi architecture in the Amida-do style of the Fujiwara period. The statue of Dainichi Nyorai (a national tre...

Kasugataisha Shrine

The Shrine lies in a primeval forest of cedars and a kind of Chinese black pines. The brilliant vermillon edifices are beautifully contrasted with their surrounding greenery. Going through the firs...

Kofuku-ji Temple

The Kofuku-ji Temple, situated next to the Todai-ji Temple, was prosperous as a forerunner of "Buddhism for aristocrats" in the Nara period. Among the seven biggest temples of Nara, the Kofuku-ji T...

Nara Craft Museum

Nara Craft Museum was established to promote the development of Nara's traditional crafts and arts, passed down and honed over the long course of their history. The museum displays not only the art...

Toshodaiji Temple - Kondō (Golden Hall or main hall)

The Kondō (Golden Hall or main hall) is a classic building whose appearance has remained the same since the second half of the 8th century, when Toshodaiji Temple was established. The façade...

Mausoleum of Emperor Shomu/Empress Komyo

Immediately west of Tamon Castle Ruins. Many tombs of emperors and members of the imperial family from the Nara period were built in this Mt. Saho area, including the tombs of Emperor Genmei and Ge...

Suzaku-mon (South Central Gate)

Suzakumon, the main gate of Heijo Palace. From here to Rashomon Gate, the entrance to Heijo Palace, Suzaku-oji Road, approximately 75m wide, continued straight. On either side of the Suzakumon Gate...

Yakushiji Temple - East Pagoda / West Pagoda

Pagodas primarily represented the grave of the Gautama Buddha. “Stupa” in Sanskrit was translated into Japanese as卒塔婆, pronounced sotōba, then shortened to 塔婆, pronounced tōba and shortened once ag...

Todaiji Temple - Todaiji Museum

With various temple treasures exhibited with the theme of "the history and fine art of Todaiji Temple"it is a facility where the history and significance of Todaiji Temple, handed down over 1,300 y...

Nara Park

This vast park covers an approximate area of 660 hectares. It encompasses the eastern portion of Nara City itself, as well Kofuku-ji Temple, Todai-ji Temple, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, and Nara National...

Oiwake Plum Grove

The plum grove has been restored for the first time in 10 years. (February 2016) Oiwake Plum Grove was able to plant 400 plum trees in collaboration with SPS Kizunaya. The plum trees planted by the...

Nara City Museum of Calligraphy

Nara City Museum of Calligraphy in Honor of Kason Sugioka specializes in the art of calligraphy. The foundation of the museum is attributed to the donated collection of Kason Sugioka, who was a lea...

Toin Teien (East Palace Garden)

An elegant garden located on the eastern overhang of the Heijo Palace ruins, which was known as ``Togu'' or ``Toin''. Centered around an L-shaped pond, it is thought to have served as a guesthouse ...

Todaiji Temple - Great Buddha Hall

Since its foundation in the 8th century, it has been destroyed by fire twice, and then rebuilt in the 13th century and the 18th century. In the 18th century, a sufficient supply of materials to con...

Todaiji Temple - Kaidando Hall

In the year 754, the Emperor Shomu, the Empress Koken and the Dowager Empress Komyo, took the Buddhist precepts from Ganjin (Jianzhen), who came from Tang China, at the Kaidan-do (ordination hall) ...

Toshodaiji Temple - Korō (Shariden)

The Korō is a two story building built on the east side of the center of the main hall and the Kōdō Lecture Hall. Although it is named the Korō, it currently enshrines busshari (Buddhist relics) br...