Taima-dera
Two Ancient Pagodas Under Mount Nijo and the Temple of the Taima Mandala
A temple at the foot of Mount Nijo in Katsuragi, and the only one in Japan where both of its anci...
Takamatsuzuka Tomb
The Asuka Tomb Whose Painted Women Started an Archaeology Boom in 1972, with a Mural Museum Next Door
A small round tomb from the late 7th or early 8th century where painted murals of court women and...
Yata-dera
A Jizo Temple in the Hills West of Yamato-Koriyama, Under 10,000 Hydrangeas in June
Properly Kongosen-ji, a temple halfway up Yatasan in the Yata hills west of Yamato-Koriyama, know...
Enjo-ji
Unkei's First Signed Statue in a Quiet Hill Temple East of Nara
A temple in Ninnikusen, in the hills east of Nara city on the old Yagyu road, with a late Heian p...
Hatenashi Village
A Hillside Hamlet on the Kohechi Trail, a Steep Climb Above Totsukawa Onsen
A small farming hamlet halfway up the Hatenashi Pass in Totsukawa, Nara, where the World Heritage...
Hozan-ji
Ikoma Shoten, a Temple Under a Cliff Reached by Japan's Oldest Cable Car
A working temple of prayer halfway up Mount Ikoma, where people come to ask Kangiten, known local...
Ikoma Sanjo Amusement Park
A 1929 Amusement Park on Top of Mount Ikoma, With a Flying Tower Often Called Japan's Oldest Large Ride
A small, old-fashioned amusement park on the 642 m summit of Mount Ikoma, opened by Kintetsu in 1...
Saidai-ji
Three Minutes from Yamato-Saidaiji Station, a Temple Where Tea Is Passed Round in a Giant Bowl
Once the western counterpart of Todai-ji, now a set of Edo-period halls three minutes from a busy...
Abe Monju-in
Kaikei's 7-Metre Monju on a Lion, Abe no Seimei's Hall and a Cosmos Maze in Sakurai
A temple of the Abe clan south of Sakurai Station. The main hall holds a group of five National T...
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...
Fujiwara Palace Site
The Field Where Nara Says Japan's First Grid-Planned Capital Stood, Now Planted with Rapeseed, Lotus and Cosmos
The site of the palace at the centre of Fujiwara-kyo, Japan's capital from 694 to 710, which Nara...
Jiko-in
A Tea Master's Temple Where the Entry Fee Buys a Bowl of Matcha and a View over the Yamato Basin
A small Zen temple in Yamato-Koriyama built in 1663 by the tea master and local lord Katagiri Sek...
Michi-no-Eki Katsuragi
Taro rice cakes and cut flowers at the Katsuragi exit
A farm market right at the Katsuragi exit of the Minami-Hanna Road, the quick way from Osaka into...
Mount Kongo
The 1,125 m Peak Locals Climb Hundreds of Times, Stamp Card in Hand
The highest peak of the Kongo range, 1,125 m, on the Nara-Osaka border. Most people walk up from ...
Hannya-ji
The Cosmos Temple on the Old Kyoto Road, with a Kamakura Stone Pagoda in the Middle
A temple on the hill north of Todai-ji, known in Nara as the cosmos temple: about 150,000 cosmos ...