Nara Hidden Gems
27 spots
Yoshino Mikumari Shrine — Mountain Water Goddess Shrine
Yoshino Mikumari Shrine (吉野水分神社) is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Mikumari-no-Kami (水分神), the deity of water distribution…
Narazuke Pickles — Sake Lees-Pickled Vegetables
Narazuke (奈良漬) are vegetables pickled in sake kasu (酒粕, sake lees — the fermented rice solids left after sake brewing),…
Nara Sake — Birthplace of Clear Sake Brewing
Nara is the birthplace of sake brewing's key innovations — monks at Shoryakuji Temple (菩提山正暦寺) invented the bodaimoto me…
Ukimido Pavilion — Floating Pavilion at Sunset
Ukimido (浮見堂, 'Floating Pavilion') is a hexagonal pavilion built on stilts over Sagi-ike Pond in Nara Park's southern ar…
Wakakusayama Hill — Panoramic Nara Views & Grass Burning
Wakakusayama (若草山, 'Young Grass Mountain') is a 342-meter grassy hill on Nara Park's eastern edge offering panoramic vie…
Nara Sumi Ink & Fude Brushes — Traditional Calligraphy Crafts
Nara produces 90% of Japan's traditional sumi ink (墨, solid ink sticks) and is a major center for fude (筆, calligraphy b…
Gangoji Temple — Nara's Oldest Temple & Roof Tile Museum
Gangoji (元興寺) is one of Nara's Seven Great Temples and Japan's oldest temple, originally founded in 588 AD in Asuka befo…
Kashihara Jingu Shrine — Mythical First Emperor's Shrine
Kashihara Jingu (橿原神宮) is a large Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Jimmu, Japan's legendary first emperor according to…
Isonokami Jingu Shrine — Sacred Swords & Free-Roaming Chickens
Isonokami Jingu (石上神宮) is one of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines, established in the 4th century as a repository for sacre…
Heijo Palace Site — Reconstructed Ancient Capital
Heijo Palace (平城宮跡, Heijo-kyo) was the imperial palace during Nara's time as Japan's capital (710–784 AD), occupying 120…
Nara-machi Koshi-no-ie — Preserved Edo Merchant House
Naramachi Koshi-no-ie (奈良町格子の家) is a preserved Edo Period machiya (merchant townhouse) opened as a free museum showing t…
Nara Park Maple Viewing — Autumn Foliage & Deer
Nara Park transforms in autumn (mid-November to early December) when 2,000+ maple, ginkgo, and cherry trees turn vibrant…
Nara Park — 1,200 Sacred Deer Roaming Free
Nara Park (奈良公園) is a 660-hectare park where over 1,200 wild sika deer roam freely among visitors, temples, and open mea…
Todaiji Temple — Japan's Largest Bronze Buddha
Todaiji Temple (東大寺, 'Great Eastern Temple') houses the Daibutsu (大仏, Great Buddha) — a 15-meter-tall bronze statue of V…
Kasuga Taisha — 3,000 Stone and Bronze Lanterns
Kasuga Taisha (春日大社) is Nara's most important Shinto shrine, established in 768 AD as the tutelary shrine of the powerfu…
Naramachi — Edo-Period Merchant District
Naramachi (奈良町) is Nara's preserved merchant quarter with narrow lanes lined with traditional machiya townhouses dating…
Kofukuji Temple — Five-Story Pagoda & Buddhist Treasures
Kofukuji (興福寺) is a UNESCO World Heritage temple founded in 669 AD as the clan temple of the powerful Fujiwara family, s…
Mount Yoshino — 30,000 Cherry Trees in Pilgrimage Mountains
Yoshino's 30,000 cherry trees bloom in four elevation zones called senbon (千本, 'thousand trees') — Shimo, Naka, Kami, an…
Kakinoha-zushi — Persimmon-Leaf Wrapped Sushi
Kakinoha-zushi (柿の葉寿司) is Nara's signature pressed sushi: vinegared rice topped with mackerel, salmon, or sea bream, wra…
Asuka Village — Ancient Capital Ruins & Stone Mysteries
When you cycle through Asuka's rice paddies, granite boulders carved with geometric channels and stone slabs weighing 77…
Horyuji Temple — World's Oldest Wooden Buildings
Horyuji (法隆寺) is a UNESCO World Heritage temple containing the world's oldest surviving wooden structures — the Main Hal…
Yakushiji Temple — Twin Pagodas & Healing Buddha
Yakushiji (薬師寺) is a UNESCO World Heritage temple founded in 680 AD, famous for its twin pagodas flanking the Main Hall…
Toshodaiji Temple — Tang Dynasty Architecture Preserved
When the Chinese monk Jianzhen finally reached Japan in 754 AD after five shipwrecks, pirate attacks, and twelve years a…
Yoshino Kuzu Mochi — Translucent Arrowroot Starch Sweets
Yoshino is Japan's premier producer of kuzu (葛, arrowroot starch), a plant-based starch extracted from kudzu vine roots…
Nara National Museum — Buddhist Art Treasures
Nara National Museum (奈良国立博物館) is Japan's premier museum for Buddhist art, housing over 2,000 Buddhist sculptures, paint…
Asuka-dera Temple — Japan's Oldest Buddha Statue
Asuka-dera (飛鳥寺) was Japan's first full-scale Buddhist temple, founded in 596 AD when Buddhism was still new to the arch…
Nara Hotel — Historic Meiji-Era Luxury & Afternoon Tea
The Nara Hotel opened in 1909 when the Meiji government decided Japan needed Western-style luxury hotels to host foreign…