Nara Day Trip (from Osaka)

THIS TOUR STARTS FROM A LOCATION OF YOUR CHOICE IN OSAKA.

You can pick your hotel, Kansai Airport, a train station or any other location as long as it is located within OSAKA CITY.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE?

+ Vehicle designated in selected package (either a Toyota Alphard, HiAce Grand Cabin, or HiAce Luxury Cabin)

+ English speaking driver (the driver is not a guide & may only have basic English skills)

+ Tolls, Highway Fees, Parking Fees, Fuel (and other associated vehicle costs for this itinerary)

SEAT PLAN

Toyota Alphard	HiAce Grand Cabin	HiAce Luxury Cabin

HOW CAN I ADD A TOUR GUIDE?

Pick a date & package; press the PROCEED BOOKING button. The next screen will offer you the option to add on a REGION EXPERT (a local guide with expert knowledge of the area, its history and culture) for an additional fee. Other add-ons may also be available.

ITINERARY

This private package tour will start at a location of your choice within OSAKA and then proceed to the destinations.

Destination 01: Todaiji Temple

Destination 02: Nara Park

Destination 03: Isuien Garden

Destination 04: Naramachi

DETAILED ITINERARY

Nara is the capital of Japan’s Nara Prefecture, in south-central Honshu. The city has significant temples and artwork dating to the 8th century, when it was Japan’s capital. Deer roam in Nara Park, site of Tōdai-ji temple. Daibutsu, Tōdai-ji’s 15m-high bronze Buddha, is displayed in a large wooden hall. On the park’s east side is the Shinto shrine Kasuga Taisha, which dates to 768 A.D. and more than 3,000 lanterns.

We start off in Japan’s second largest metropolitan area, Osaka. After picking you up in one of our luxurious private vehicles, we will drive you through some truly spectacular views to the four iconic destinations in Nara.

Destination 01: Todaiji Temple

Todaiji is one of Japan’s most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. The temple was established in the early Nara Period, and its main hall was completed in 752. Todaiji served as the head temple of a nationwide network of provincial Buddhist temples and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order to lower the temple’s influence on government affairs.

Destination 02: Nara Park

Nara Park is a large park in central Nara. Established in 1880, it is the location of many of Nara’s main attractions including Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji and the Nara National Museum. The park is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer. Considered in Shinto to be messengers of the gods, Nara’s nearly 1200 deer have become a symbol of the city and have even been designated as a natural treasure. Nara’s deer are surprisingly tame, although they can be aggressive if they think you will feed them. Deer crackers are for sale around the park, and some deer have learned to bow to visitors to ask to be fed.

Destination 03: Isuien Garden

Isuien is an attractive Japanese garden with a variety of features, such as the use of Todaiji Temple’s Nandaimon Gate and Mount Wakakusayama as “borrowed scenery”. Isuien means “garden founded on water”, and the garden’s name is derived from the fact that its ponds are fed by the small adjacent Yoshikigawa River. The Yoshikien Garden is located just on the other side of the river.

Destination 04: Naramachi

Naramachi is the former merchant district of Nara, where several traditional residential buildings and warehouses are preserved and open to the public. Boutiques, shops, cafes, restaurants and a few museums now line the district’s narrow lanes.

The tour will end with us dropping you off at a location of your choice in Osaka.