Last updated on September 20th, 2023 at 06:17 am
If you’re visiting Japan and, more precisely, Kyoto, then one day in Nara is a must to add to your bucket list. This Japanese city is located only 40min away from Kyoto by train and charms many locals and tourists for its uniqueness and beautiful architecture.
Nara is well known as the free-roaming deer city, with its massive Buddhist temple and many Shinto shrines. Nara is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kyoto is a quaint city and pretty much a window into the past. Nara is an extension of this as you can delve further into ancient times and peek at what was once the first capital of Japan, so follow my Nara one-day itinerary for a fun day trip with the best things to do!
As I said above, Nara is a trendy day trip from Kyoto if you’re visiting; it’s worth taking one day to explore. You won’t regret it!
Tips: If you’re travelling around Japan and have the JR Pass, take the JR Nara Line from Kyoto; this way, you don’t have to pay for the transportation and make the most of your JR Pass!
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That being said, every time I took the shinkansen, I loved it. It’s fast, on time, and cleanโmy favourite train ride.
Nara One Day Itinerary: Best Things To Do
Once you step off the train, it’s pretty easy to find Nara Park, where most landmarks are and where you’ll stay during the day.
Even if you don’t have a GPS, you must follow the various signs to find the numerous shrines and, naturally, the deer.
It takes a bit of a walk but nothing too dramatic that allows you to peek into the city on your way to Nara Park!
NARA PARK
One of the city’s prominent landmarks is where you can find most of the deer. They wander freely in the town and have been established here for 1000 years. It’s pretty amazing to think that humans and deer have been able to live together for such a long time.
The park is pretty big and takes a while to explore, especially if you’re like me, and stop to check how adorable the deer are.
READ: ULTIMATE TOKYO TRAVEL GUIDE
Feeding the deer is forbidden; if you want to do so, you have to buy some individual biscuits for them; as you can see in the picture above, they’re in between 150 yens (as pictured above) and 200 yens (the price I paid this year 2020) and are available in most shops or little stall.
The deer are so used to human presence and the thousands of tourists they see daily that they’re uninterested in you unless you have food.
However, one fun fact is that since they’re accustomed to human presence, they learned to “bow”, making them seem very polite and extra cute. If you bow, they’ll bow back!
Unfortunately, it’s not that rare to see some wounded deer; unfortunately, it might seem a little too touristy to buy Shika senbei, but the profit of the biscuit feeds them and help to take care of them.
Nara park entrance is free and opens 24 hours, seven days a week. Only some shrines within the park (which we will see below) charge a small fee to visit them and have opening hours.
KOFUKUJI TEMPLE AND PAGODA
Fojukuki Temple is composed of several buildings and is also known to be one of the most beautiful museums of sacred sculpture if you’d like to see another side of Japanese culture.
There are also not one but two pagodas there. The main one is the five-storied Pagoda located east of the great southern gate; the second, situated in the west, is the three-storied pagoda.
TODAI-JI TEMPLE
Price:
There are two different prices:
A joint ticket for the Great Buddha Hall at Todaiji and the Todaiji Museum is 800 yen.
Only 500 yen to enter the Great Buddha Hall.
Todai-ji is located a bit further north of Nara Park. It is one of the most lively temples in Nara as it is also the most famous one. Another landmark of Nara is the Todai-ji temple, where you can find a giant bronze Buddha statue in Japan sitting inside the temple; it’s pretty impressive when you enter the shrine.
Two more idols also surround it on each side.
If you’re collecting Goshuin, it’s also a great place to get one for your book to add to your collection!
The price of the goshuin at Todai-ji is 300 yen.
NIGATSU-Dร SHRINE
After visiting Todai-ji Shrine, you can go to another part of the complex, only a few minutes away. Nigatsu-dรด Shrine is on the bottom of Mount Wakakusa, making it an excellent viewpoint over the city.
The wooden building is also beautiful; it was built on stilts to adapt to the mount back in the VIII century; however, a fire ravaged the complex in 1667 and was rebuilt two years later.
Nigatsu-dรด means the second month and stands for the annual ceremony of fire held at this time of the year called “Omizutori“.
SHOP FOR SOUVENIRS IN HIGASHIMUKI SHOPPING AREA
Higashimuki, the shopping arcade of Nara.
Japanese loves shopping, so, of course, you can find plenty of shops even in Nara, the city has a shopping arcade.
You can find many traditional souvenirs if you want to bring something unique as a memory from your trip or as a gift. The mascot of Nara is, without a surprise, an adorable deer; you can find it on cookie boxes or socks and many more items!
It’s also a great spot if you’re looking to eat or drink!
READ: 10 THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT TOKYO
I’ve been to Nara twice during my trip; one time I took a day trip from Tokyo, and the second time, the most recent, it was from Kyoto. Both times I loved Nara’s charm and beautiful architecture; it never gets old.
Although it can get quickly crowded, being so close to Kyoto and prone to mass tourism, I recommend visiting during off-seasons.
It shows you how past and present culture and architecture blend so well together in Japan. That’s a wrap on my Nara in a one-day Itinerary; I hope you enjoyed it!
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Nara One Day Itinerary: Best Things To Do
โ Best Travel Ressources To Plan Your Next Trip
If you need help planning your next trip, don’t worry. I’ve got you covered! Here are my favourite websites and apps to plan a trip!
โ How To Find Flights?
My favourite website for booking flights is Skyscanner; it is a good comparator for finding the cheapest flights.
Google Flight is also a good help when it comes to comparing flights.
โ Where To Book Accommodations?
The best sites to book accommodations are Booking.com or Expedia. They both allow you to collect points for a discount; it’s worth comparing the two as they often have different pricing for the same hotels.
Another perk about Booking.com and Expedia is that you can get bundle deals for flights and accommodations, which can sometimes help you save a lot of money. And don’t worry; you can also select to add accommodation for only a specific part of the trip if you’re not only staying in one place.
โ Best Sites To Book Activities
My go-to website when I need to book an activity is GetYourGuide when I can’t get a ticket directly on the website or if it’s easier to go through them.
I always check if the price is the same, though, as the whole point is for it to be easier but not more expensive.
If I don’t find the activity I want on GetYourGuide, I like to check Viator for more options!
You can also check out Klook if you need to book more than just activities and would like to get everything from the same websiteโ(i.e. transport cards, car rental, hotel…).
โ Other helpful travel resources
– Radical Storage: If you need a place to keep your luggage for an extended period when you travel, I recommend using them. It was a great help when we needed a place to keep our luggage safely while we left the city for a few days.
– TheTrainline: If you love to travel by train like me, then TheTrainline needs to be your go-to website for train travel in Europe. It is very reliant and easy to use.
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Disclaimer: This resources box contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you book anything through my links at no additional cost. These links help me support the blog and generate more content. Happy travels!
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Louise says
Oh those deer are so cute! This has been on my bucketlist ever since my grandparents showed me their photos of feeding those deer back in the 1960s!
Nicky says
Aren’t they beautiful! And lucky you for having been to Japan 3 times already. I’ve pinned this to my Asia board as a must see! Thank you for sharing x
Emma Grace says
Wow I can’t believe how unaffected they are by people – practically tame! Definitely one for the bucket list.
tavernatravels1 says
Omg these deer are so cute! Thanks for sharing ๐
TheGreatAmbini says
Those deer are so cute, I would love to go and visit myself. The trains in Japan are meant to be insane, so I would also love to head out that way from Toyoko!
mitalistraveldiary says
I have been to Nara but I never thought of writing a separate post for it so first of all congratulations for putting it together so nicely. Some of the photos are I really incredible.
Amanda says
As someone who grew up in a part of the US where seeing wild deer is pretty common, I’m always fascinated by places like this. I’m unsure if it would make it on my own to-do list in Japan, but it’s interesting to read about!
josypheen says
Squeeee I loooove Nara!!
I lived her for a couple of years and worked in the Kencho (the government building right next to Todaiji) It was my favorite place to live ever…I mean, even my old jogging route went through several world heritage sites!!
But, the best thing about Nara has to be those deer. I loved watching them chase tourists and taking photos of them. I think you went at the time of year when they look the cutest with those pretty spots. ๐
josypheen says
*there*, not her(!) Sorry about my typo!
Teja says
Cracks me up to see herds of grazing animals wandering about towns and cities! They invariably – just like the deer you met – have a ‘whatever’ attitude.
Ketki Gadre says
Nara looks like a good day trip! I could only visit Tokyo sometime back but would love to come back for Kyoto and Nara. Feeding the deer would be real nice ๐
Linn Kjos Falkenberg says
They look so cute and peaceful! Sounds like a good combination with visiting the shrines as well.
C-Ludik says
There are so many great places to visit in Japan that it’s hard to see them all in one go ! Nara seems the perfect setting for a truly unique Japanese experience ๐ It’s great to see that the deer are the stars of Nara and you can see them everywhere !
thegetawayjournals says
It’s so weird how the deer look so much different there than in the states! They’re so so cute! I would have bought them all the biscuits <3
Shivani says
I can admit I love this place, humans and deers living collaterally till date is amazing. It’s understandable people don’t know much about Nara, but I love the less-touristy vibe and the chilled out deers of-course ๐ I hope I’ll be able squeeze it in the itinerary whenever I plan to visit Japan.
Natalie says
This is such a cute blog post! Love it ?
Jacs says
I didn’t realise the deer wandered freely. That’s kind of good to know. I had assumed they were in a park. Those wooden structures are just beautiful.
Farrah says
Japan is on my travel bucket list, and Nara is definitely part of it! :] Thanks for the tip with the JR pass! The deer are so cute!
Chelsea says
Wow the deer are super close! I experienced something similar when I visited Banff, the deers just roam the streets, itโs so strange to see!!!
roshni says
wow i would love to feed them biscuits they are so cute
Em says
Aw your deer selfie is super cute! I was in only in Kyoto for a weekend and didn’t really know this place was close by. Next time!
lannie says
What a great post!! I never made it to Nara when I was in japan and I always wanted to go back. Hopefully next year!
Zoe says
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