On the first floor of the Nara Park Bus Terminal West Building, easily found just east of the Nara Prefectural Office, you’ll discover a sizable souvenir shop. With its well-maintained premises, this shop offers a fitting place to explore and purchase mementos after touring Nara Park. After ascending the Nara Prefectural Office Observatory for a high-altitude view of Nara Park, ...
Opposite Noborioji Observatory in Nara Park and west of Nara Bus Terminal stands the “Nara Prefectural Office.” While primarily an administrative hub for the Nara region, the building hosts an observatory at its top, offering panoramic views of Nara Park and its surroundings. Given Nara’s abundance of cultural heritage, strict development regulations seem to limit the construction of tall buildings. ...
Nara Park encompasses various smaller parks, including Kofuku-ji and Todai-ji. One of the parks where deer sightings are common is Noborioji Park. Located conveniently near Nara Bus Terminal and directly opposite Nara Prefectural Office, Noborioji Park is the go-to place if you’re eager to see deer in Nara. “Easy Deer Sightings Near Nara Bus Terminal at Noborioji Park” While deer ...
Kofuku-ji, located at the heart of Nara Park, is a Buddhist temple and a symbol of Nara. It is home to the second tallest pagoda in Japan, standing at five stories. With a history dating back to 1399, this temple originated from the aspirations of Fujiwara no Kamatari, who founded it to pray for the recovery of his wife, Kagami ...
In the southern part of Nara Park, you’ll come across a small artificial pond known as Sarusawa Pond. The reflection of the 5-story pagoda from Kofuku-ji Temple in the pond makes this place one of the iconic landscapes representing Nara. “Uname Shrine – A Small Shrine near Sarusawa Pond” Located near Sarusawa Pond, to the northwest, you’ll find a small ...
In the southern part of Nara Park, you’ll find Sarusawa Pond (Sarusawaike), a place steeped in various stories and considered one of the iconic landscapes representing Nara. Most ponds and lakesides typically feature cafes, and Sarusawa Pond is no exception. “Starbucks Sarusawaike Store” Adjacent to Sarusawa Park in Nara Park, you can easily locate a Starbucks café, a familiar sight ...
In the southern part of Nara Park, you’ll discover a small pond known as Sarusawa Pond. This picturesque spot offers a charming atmosphere and serves as an excellent location for capturing photos with Kofuku-ji Temple as the backdrop. The pond is an artificial water feature with a circumference of 360 meters. “Sarusawa Pond in the Southern Part of Nara Park” ...
Gango-ji is a temple located in the heart of Naramachi in Nara. It can be read in Sino-Korean pronunciation as “Wonen-ji.” This ancient Buddhist temple is also recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Naramachi’s focal point, Gango-ji, was originally established in 596 AD in Asuka, the ancient capital, as Asukadera, Japan’s foremost (head) temple, following the relocation to its ...
During my recent trip to Nara, I chose to stay at a traditional Japanese guesthouse called “Haruya Naramachi.” The reason behind selecting this accommodation was quite simple – while searching for Nara area lodgings on Agoda, I discovered that I could stay for one night at a remarkably affordable price, approximately 20,000 won. Considering the limited time left in my ...
The place I chose to stay during this Nara trip was “Haruya Naramachi.” However, whether due to a mistake in the Google Maps search or other reasons, I had “Guesthouse Naramachi” saved. As a result, unknowingly, I followed Google Maps to “Guesthouse Naramachi.” “Guesthouse Naramachi” was located about a 20-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station. I arrived at Nara Station ...
For this Kansai region trip, I spent the first two nights in Kyoto, followed by the next two nights in Osaka. The subsequent plan included one night in Nara and the final night in Kobe, concluding the journey. I made the most of the time allocated in Osaka. Now it was time to move to Nara. Originally, I planned to ...