Travel Destinations in Nara

Gangoji

Japan's Oldest Temple with 1,400-Year-Old Roof Tiles

A World Heritage temple and one of Japan's oldest, where remarkably some original roof tiles from...

Kofuku-ji

Nara's Five-Story Pagoda and National Treasure Hall

World Heritage temple with Japan's second-tallest wooden pagoda (50m). The National Treasure Hall...

Horyu-ji

The World's Oldest Wooden Buildings and a UNESCO World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important temples in Japan, Horyu-ji contains th...

Toshodai-ji

Ganjin's Legacy and the Finest Nara-Period Architecture

A World Heritage temple founded in 759 by the Chinese monk Ganjin, whose Golden Hall is widely re...

Kasuga Taisha

Kasuga Grand Shrine

Ancient Shinto shrine set in a primeval forest, famous for thousands of stone and bronze lanterns.

Isonokami Shrine

One of Japan's Oldest Shrines with Legendary Sacred Sword

One of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines, mentioned in the nation's earliest chronicles, said to hous...

Naramachi

Charming Edo-Period Merchant Quarter with Machiya Townhouses

A charming old merchant district south of Sarusawa Pond with well-preserved Edo-period machiya to...

Tanzan Shrine

Mountain Shrine with Japan's Only Wooden Thirteen-Story Pagoda

A mountain shrine famous for Japan's only remaining wooden thirteen-story pagoda and its autumn f...

Todai-ji

Todai-ji Temple

A UNESCO World Heritage temple housing the world's largest bronze Buddha statue inside the larges...

Mount Yoshino

Japan's most celebrated cherry blossom viewing site, with approximately 30,000 cherry trees cover...

Yoshino Mikumari Shrine

Hideyori's 1604 Shrine to the Water God and Guardian of Children, High on Mount Yoshino

A shrine to the god who shares out the water, in the upper reaches of Mount Yoshino and part of t...

Ishibutai Kofun

A Bare Stone Burial Chamber in Asuka You Can Walk Into, Widely Thought to Be the Tomb of Soga no Umako

An early 7th-century burial chamber of about 30 huge stones whose earth mound has worn away, leav...

Nara

Ancient Capital with Friendly Deer

Japan's first permanent capital, famous for free-roaming sacred deer and the world's largest bron...

Kimpusen-ji

Yoshino's Zao-do Hall and the Blue Zao Gongen, Shown Only in Spring and Autumn

The head temple of Kimpusen Shugen Honshu, a Shugendo school, halfway up Mount Yoshino. Its main ...

Asuka Palace Site

The Field in Asuka Where Soga no Iruka Was Killed in 645, with a Restored Stone Pavement and Well from Emperor Tenmu's Palace

The spot in the middle of Asuka where several 7th-century rulers built their palaces one on top o...