Nara is
in the Kansai Region of Japan and is about 30-40 minutes by
train from Kyoto or Osaka. Nara, the old capital of Japan,
is home to 8 of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage Sites and 64
of the 200 and some odd buildings that are considered
national treasures in Japan. Nara is also home to about 1200
or so deer that roam freely around Nara Koen (Nara Park). I
have been to Kyoto more than 5 times but just recently went
to Nara for the first time because I thought it would feel
similar to Kyoto; however, it has a very different feel from
it. Partly because there are deer running around everywhere
and partly because it is less crowded (although the famous
spots like Todaiji, do get very crowded at times), but there
is something about Nara, that is somewhat hard to pinpoint,
that makes it a magical place.
I highly recommend checking Nara out, especially in the
fall. If you want, you could probably see most of Nara
without staying overnight, but I recommend staying one night
there just to make sure you can see everything you want to
see. Below are a few places that you will not want to miss:
•
Todaiji Huge temple that holds Japan's largest Buddha
(top photo)
• Nara Koen Nara Park is where a lot of
temples, shrines and 1200+ deer are
• Horyuji Oldest wooden building and
structures in the world
• Kokufuji
• Kasuga Taisha
• Toshodaiji
• Yakushiji
