Jane's Midlife Journey

We spent one day in Nara, visiting from our base in nearby Kyoto. Nara, Japan’s first permanent capital, is famous for its temple containing a large Buddha statue. And its park full of deer. It is just 26 miles south of Kyoto, thus a popular day trip.

How to get to Nara

It’s a 45 minute train ride to Nara on the aptly named Nara Line, which is included in our JR Rail Pass.

Getting around Nara

Nara has two stations: JR Nara Station and Kintetsu Nara Station. You can walk (obviously) or take the No 2 bus, which costs Y220. It’s about a mile from JR Nara station to Nara Park. It was raining when we visited, so we treated ourselves to a bus ride. The city has a special Loop Line Bus service for tourists. The buses are bright yellow, so are easy to spot. From Nara Station, take the number 2 service from bus stop 2. This bus will take you to Nara Park in about 10. It wasn’t initially clear where we needed to disembark, but we reached a bus stop circled with expectant deer and figured we’d arrived!

There are several stops within the park, but the best way to get around the park itself is by walking.

Nara in 1 Day Itinerary

1	Nara Park
2	Kasuga Taisha Shrine
3	Todaiji Temple
4	Great Buddha
5	Todaiji Museum
6	Nandaimon Gate
7	Nara National Museum

Nara Park

The large Nara Park is home to a herd of what my guide book describes as ‘many (somewhat) tame deer’. This is an understatement! We disembark and run the gauntlet of deer. The old man purchases some deer food from a stall with its own deer circle. He is immediately surrounded. Some deer go for the food, another tries to eat the map whilst another bites him on the arse.

Kasuga Taisha Shrine

We spot a sea of umbrellas heading up the hill and follow behind them. It’s a pleasant walk through a forest lined with stone lanterns.

However, this takes us in the opposite direction to our intended destination and we end up at Kasuga Taisha Shrine. This ancient shrine was originally built in the 8th Century, when Nara became the capital of Japan.

Todaiji Temple

We return down the hill and across the park until we reach Todaiji Temple.

At the centre of the 8th Century temple is a huge Buddha statue. It is housed in the Daibutsuden, one of the largest wooden buildings in the world.

Great Buddha

The Great Buddha (Daibutsu) stands 15 metres high and contains 437 tonnes of bronze plus 130 kg of gold. This makes it one of the largest bronze statues in the world.

You enter at the front of the Buddha, walk round it, then exit via a long line of gift shops.

At the rear of the statue is a pillar with a hole the size of the Buddha’s nostril. It is said that if you can crawl through the hole, you will achieve enlightenment. Unfortunately, the hole has been covered up to prevent the spread of Covid, so enlightenment is currently on pause.

Outside the temple is a rather grotesque statue; Binzuru. It is said that if you have an ailment, you can cure it by praying and touching the corresponding body part of Binzuru. Miracle cures are also on hold due to Covid. If only there was a statue you could touch to cure covid…

Entry to the shrine costs Y600 or Y1000 for a combined ticket including the museum.

Todaiji Museum

As we head back towards the museum, we pass Todaiji Museum and realise that our combo ticket is for this, rather than the museum we’d intended. This small museum houses treasures excavated from around the temple. It also has some rather over zealous cleaners; a lady walks behind us and each time we stop to look at anything, she disinfects and polishes the glass where we were previously stood.

Nandaimon Gate

We exit the temple complex via the enormous Nandaimon Gate. It contains two 13th Century guardian statues (replicas of which can be seen in the National Mueum) and a lot of deer.

Nara National Museum

The Nara National Museum is a veritable treasure chest of Buddhist artefacts, primarily Buddha statues. Entry costs Y700 with addition fees for special exhibits. We just purchase the basic ticket which provides access to two areas. The West Wing; this contains Buddhist art.

An underground passageway brings us to the Buddhist Sculpture Hall; row upon row, room upon room of Buddha statues of all shapes and sizes with varying numbers of heads and arms. With the exception of the aforementioned guardian statues, photography is forbidden throughout.

All Bhuddhaed out, we return to Nara station and purchase some food from a nearby bakery while we wait for our train to Kyoto.

Lunch at Vie de France

Lunch is a veritable feast of fusion from Vie de France. First, a German sausage in Teriyaki sauce wrapped in a tortilla. Followed by a curry-cheese bao bun.

• Trip taken: January 2023
• Updated: March 2026

I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.