Japan's first permanent capital: a bronze Buddha 15 metres tall in a colossal wooden hall, a forest shrine of stone lanterns, and a park full of bowing deer.
Nara was Japan's capital in the 8th century, before the court moved to Kyoto, and its great temples and shrines were built to match. Most of them stand in or around one huge park.
Todai-ji houses the Great Buddha, a seated bronze figure about 15 metres tall, inside a hall that is one of the largest wooden buildings in the world, even though today's version is a third smaller than the original.
The park belongs to roughly 1,200 sika deer, regarded as messengers of the gods. They bow for shika senbei crackers, and they will nip, butt or eat your map if you're slow.
Deeper in the forest, Kasuga Taisha is approached along paths lined with moss-covered stone lanterns; hundreds of bronze ones hang in its corridors. South of the park, Naramachi keeps lanes of old wooden merchant houses.
A loop on foot from the station and back.
From Kintetsu-Nara station, walk east past Kofuku-ji and into Nara park, where the first deer will find you.
Pass between the two fierce wooden guardians carved in the 13th century, each about eight metres tall.
Inside the hall, look for the pillar with a hole at its base: squeezing through it is said to bring enlightenment.
Climb behind Todai-ji to the free veranda of Nigatsu-do for the best view over Nara, then wander south through the woods.
Follow the lantern paths to Kasuga Taisha, then cut back through the park to the lanes of Naramachi for tea.
Kintetsu expresses from Kyoto station to Kintetsu-Nara take about 45 minutes and leave you closest to the park. JR trains run to JR Nara, a little further out.
Buy crackers only from the official vendors, feed them quickly, and show empty hands when you're done. Watch for stags in autumn.
Don't feed the deer anything but their crackers, and don't tease them with food. Litter makes them ill.
Kyoto practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
