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Welcome to the fascinating city of Nara, Japan with its friendly tame deer and fabulous Temples. “Nara-koen” with its’ eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites is a site to see. The city is compact and very easy to see in one day and is considered to be the birth place of Japanese Culture. Nara is only a day trip from Osaka or Kyoto, easily accessible by train. With my trusty * Lonely Planet Japan Travel Book and * Fodor’s Japan Travel Book I am ready to start my adventure.
First a visit to Daibutsu the “Great Buddha” located in the Todai-ji Temple is a site to behold. Finally take a stroll through Nara Park to walk among the tame deer. Lets’ learn about the history of Nara. Here are a few of my favorite places to visit.
Todai-ji Temple Nara
Go into the temple of Todai-ji, stop, glance up and behold the full magnificent view of Daibutsu the “Great Buddha”. Stand there and feel the energy radiating from him. Turn around and see inside of this magnificent temple.
Great Buddha seated on Petals
Todai-ji Temple was built for the Emperor Shomu in 752 A.D. who hoped to position it as the head temple and Vairocana Buddha. The Vairocana Buddha is the “Buddha that shines throughout the world like the Sun”
Huge flowers next to the Great Buddha.
A huge prayer gong inside the Temple.
Place to burn incense inside of the temple.
Huge statue among the smoke from the incense.
Village of the Deer Nara
Walk freely through the Village of the Deer and be greeted by the tame Sika Deer.
Roaming free tame deer among the people.
According to legendary history, a mythological god Takemikazuchi arrived in Nara on a white deer to guard the capital. Since that time they have been regarded as protectors of the city and country therefore makes them heavenly animals.
Sika Deer that will come close enough to eat out of your hand.
Deer resting on this warm day.
As of 2015 there were more than 1,200 Sika Deer in Nara and they all want some snacks.
Deer excited about food!
Kiss me moment!
Vendors that line the walkway sell deer crackers to feed the deer. Be careful once you pull out the snack they will all come and gather around you and try to take the snack, bag and all.
Location & Transportation to Nara
Nara is located in the Kansai Region of Japan. It can be accessed by Train using the Japan Rail Pass that is bought before going to Japan. Other alternatives to access to Nara is by JR lines and Kintesu Railway (private railway company) connects Osaka/Kyoto with Nara too.
Kintetsu Limited Express from Kyoto to Nara takes 30 mins. There are certain times these run. Make sure to stop by the Kyoto Tourist Information Center (TIC) on the 2nd floor to obtain information and they will give you times. Each day you buy a ticket have them write down the times of departure for each town.
The train station can be intimidating but informative, therefore stop by the information center and they will help you with directions in English.
Other Activities to do in Nara
- Isui-en & Neiraku Art Museum
- Daibutsu Hiking Course that is a wooden trail that connects Kita kamakura with te Daibutsu. (apporx 1 ½ hours)
More
Enjoy your time in this amazing city. First, I suggest to make this a day trip from Osaka and also do multiply day trips to Kyoto. Second, I found the hotels less expensive in Osaka than Kyoto as a home base. Lastly, the best time to visit Nara is in – late March to mid-May, mid-August, and during New Year Period.
Be adventurous and eat at a local restaurant…
Most noteworthy school children in groups with their teacher, walk up to Westerners to practice their English and ask a set of questions. These questions were thought of ahead of time and your answers are written down. Please participate, it is fun and the kids enjoy your interaction. In the end a photo opportunity is available.
Having fun with the school kids answering their questions and interacting in English while they practice. Lots of fun…
There are other wonderful places to visit in Japan. See my blogs on Kyoto, Osaka, & Hiroshima. Great Hotel Recommendations, Activities to visit along with Restaurants and Pubs. More travel locations at 1AdventureTraveler.
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Also, please have a look at the link up’s I’m participating in with #FollowMeFriday and #WeekendWanderlust on Facebook. Here you will find fantastic adventures by other professional bloggers.
Great post! Japan is one of places we’d most like to visit, so we’re filing this one away for later. 🙂
Thanks Rob and Ann,
Happy you are filing this one for later. A must visit to Nara is to visit the free roaming deer. Japan is a wonderful place to immerse oneself into the culture.
Happy Travels 🙂
This looks like another great place! I love the sweet little deer you saw there! The temples look great and how fun to hang out with the school children- these things have such an impact!
Thanks Jenn,
The sweet deer can be a bit aggressive but amazing to see them roam free. Interacting with the children through out our time in Japan was fun and rewarding. Love how they like to take pictures with us.
Happy Travels, Stephanie (1AdventureTraveler)
The temple looks really fascinating and that statue is certainly imposing. How cool that there are friendly deer just wandering about the place. Good tips about getting here and Osaka and Kyoto, will try to keep in mind when I visit one day.
Thanks David,
Hope the tips help when you make it to Japan. Nara, Osaka and Kyoto all make for wonderful places to visit some even for multiply days. Japan is amazing and I’m happy to share some of my research.
Happy Travels, Stephanie (1AdventureTraveler)
Now you’ve made me jealous as we wanted to visit Nara last year, but sadly couldn’t fit the city in our itinerary. The deer look so cute! amazing they are so tame and you can feed them! nice video too 🙂
Thanks Garth,
Sorry you missed Nara but I’m sure you saw some very fascinating places in Japan. The Deer in the Park are so friendly and love to be feed but look out it can become a frenzy and all you can do is laugh. Glad you liked my video, I edited it and Nara looks a lot more interesting.
Happy Travels, Stephanie (1AdventureTraveler) 🙂
We haven’t been to Nara yet but you made us want to visit it! We loved your picture and we found your post very informative! Keep up the great work Stephanie! Patrick and Cecile from http://www.travel4lifeblog.com
Thanks Patrick and Cecile,
Nara is such a fun and interesting place to visit and only a day-trip from Kyoto. Seeing the Giant Buddha, Sika Deer and the school kids was wonderful. The school children are so fascinated by Westerners and they love to practice their English. What a wonderful place and hope you get a chance to visit someday. 🙂
Happy Travels, Stephanie (1AdventureTraveler)
Very interesting. Nara looks like a fascinating place. I have been thinking more about visiting Japan lately and your post has further piqued my interest! Thank you for including helpful information.
Thanks Kelly,
Japan is an amazing and interesting place to visit with its many temples and history. Nara is a wonderful day-trip from Kyoto and just amazing to see the Giant Buddha. The deer are fascinating especially while feeding and they try to eat everything in site. Hope you get a chance to make it to Japan one day. 🙂
Happy Travels, Stephanie (1AdventureTraveler)
This looks like a really neat place to visit. Seems more laid back and less touristy. Love places with history and the temple is intriguing. The deer are just too cute!
Hi Lisa,
Yes, Nara is a wonderful place to visit especially if you are visiting Kyoto down south. Oh there are lots of tourist especially school kids which are wonderful all wanting to practice English and ask questions they have written down for their class. Now I agree the the deer are way to cute and its fun to feed pet them.
Happy Travels, Stephanie (1AdventureTravels) 🙂
What a wonderful place to visit! I love Buddhist Temples so these would be beautiful to see and I just adore the tame deer, look at the way his little nose is sniffing you. Thank you for the heads up with the children practising their English as well, when we visit Japan we will be sure to participate, even if it just for a fab photo opportunity like yours (check out your smile, brilliant!).
Thanks Angie,
Nara makes for a wonderful day trip with the Giant Buddha and the Sika Deer at the Park. One must watch all their items in their hands due to the deer will eat food and non-food. It then becomes a feeding frenzy and all one can do is laugh. Japan is one of my favorite places to visit especially Nara & Kyoto. I noticed traveling all through China, Japan and South Korea the kids all love to practice their English and take photos. Its fascinating and the children are so curious plus cute 🙂
Happy Travels, Stephanie (1AdventureTraveler) 🙂
Wow, what a beautiful temple! I imagine just being stunned as I walk inside; your pictures are incredible, but I really want to see it for myself, too! 🙂
Also, the deer are so cute. I can’t believe you can walk up to them without them running away. How neat. I’d totally feed them some snacks. How can you resist?
Great blog post. Thanks for the information!
Thanks Anna,
Nara with its magnificent Temple was amazing and the deer that come right up to you and eat everything in your hand, food or non-food. Feeding them becomes a frenzy at times but fun. There is so much history in Japan with so many amazing Temples. I like Nara as a one day day-trip and then spend the rest of my time in Kyoto. I hope you get a chance to experience Nara.
Happy Travels, Stephanie (1AdventureTraveler)