Tourist attractions / Experience spots

Mt. Wakakusa

Mt. Wakakusa is also famous for the annual Wakakusa Yamayaki event. It is also called Mt. Mikasa because it looks like three hats stacked on top of each other. Entering the mountain from the gates ...

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...

Uguisuzuka Tumulus

A keyhole-shaped tumulus with a total length of 103 meters built on the top of Mt. Wakakusa (342 meters above sea level), which is famous for its mountain yaki pottery. This is also said to be the ...

Yakushiji Temple - Genjō Sanzō-in (Temple dedicated to Genjō Sanzō)

Genjō Sanzō (Xuanzang Sanzang) (602-664) was a real Buddhist monk, who was the model for the character Tang Sanzang in the tale, Journey to the West. The teachings that Genjō considered to be the m...

Kasuga Taisha Shrine Garden - Manyo Botanical Garden

The manyo botanical garden with the longest history in Japan. Around 300 species of plants appearing in the Man-yo-shu (Japan's oldest collection of poems) are grown here, and each representative p...

Kasugataisha Museum

Kasugataisha Museum stores and exhibits famous treasures, primarily 352 national treasures and 971 important cultural properties, such as armor and swords symbolic of Japan, and Heian artpieces.

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...

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...

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...

Todaiji Temple - Nigatsudo Hall

Nigatsu-do (Second Month Hall) named after the “Shuni-e (omizu-tori)” ceremony held at this place in the second month of the lunar calendar. Nigatsu-do remained despite the fires set by Taira-no Sh...

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...

Marumado-tei (Kasuga Taisha Shrine)

This is a remodeled version of the former Kasuga Taisha Treasury (Kamakura period). *The photo is before the relocation.

Mount Kasuga Primeval Forest

As the site of Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Mount Kasuga is a sacred mountain, and as such, for over 1,000 years, the felling of trees from its forests has been forbidden. Because of this, ancient evergre...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

Todaiji Temple - Nandaimon Gate

The original gate (8th century) was destroyed by a typhoon in the 10th century. The current gate was reconstructed by the Buddhist saint Chogen Shonin who restored Todaiji Temple in the 13th centur...

Mausoleum of Emperor Suinin (Horai-san Tumulus)

keyhole-shaped tumulus from the early Kofun period (early 5th century) that is approximately 227 meters long and surrounded by a moat filled with water, and its beautiful appearance is suitable for...

Toshodaiji Temple - Kōdō Lecture Hall

The Kōdō Lecture Hall was built by moving and remodeling Heijō Palace's Higashi Chōshūden (government workers’ building). The outside view is of a one-storied building with a hip-and-gable ro...