Nara, Japan.

During our trip to Japan, we did a day trip to Nara. It is easily accessible via trains from Kyoto. Best known for having friendly deer roaming around freely.

If you have time and are wanting to explore more of Japan this destination is the perfect day trip from Kyoto. Make sure to have Yen set aside for all the different attractions there are to see in Nara.

Check out the Japan Guide website for more information on prices outside of the ones I will highlight on this post.

Check out my Nara Vlog on The Daily Departure YouTube channel.

Route.

We woke up in the morning and took a bus from our hotel to the main Kyoto station. Here, we purchased a one way ticket to Kyoto. This route had one train switch. Make sure to ask questions at the station in the information booth if you need help planning your route.

If you are holding a JRPass you can access the Nara line. If not You will take the Kintetsu Kyoto line. Tickets were 620 yen so make sure you have cash for your roundtrip. The train took over an hour with the changeover of trains.

On the way back make sure you pay attention because we were so tired we almost missed our train change.

Kofukuji Temple.

This was the first temple we walked past as we entered Nara. The pagoda here is the second largest in Japan. You can enter some of the halls, but not the pagoda itself. We skipped this entrance because it did not seem to be worth the money for seeing inside compared to other sites.

This was the first encounter we had with the deer and we were definitely in for a surprise. They are extremely friendly so do not be shocked if they come right up to you.

Yoshikian Garden.

This garden was a great stop! It is named after the river next to it and has many gardens within it. When we went there were very few people walking around allowing us to spend as much time there to ourselves.

Inside there is a tea house that isa beautiful piece of architecture.

If you are a foreign visitor there is no entrance fee as long as you bring your passport!

Isuien Garden.

Highly recommend this garden! As you can read in my Kyoto post we had some times where we debated on entering temples and gardens because all the entrance fees add up and this was another. I am so glad we decided to go in because it was really calming and beautiful. Again, there were no people inside and it was all to us.

The cost of this garden is 900 yen.

Towards the back of the garden there is a cute little watermill with a path across the water. This was my absolute favorite part of the garden and made it worth the cost.

At the main pond you will also get a view of Todaji Temple peaking through the tree line.

Todaji Temple.

This buddhist temple is a one you can’t miss. It hold the worlds largest buddha statue inside. Originally the temple was built in 752, but was later rebuilt in 1692 due to the fact that is burned down.

It used to be the largest wooden building in Japan. The structure is absolutely stunning and so huge. This stop is a must see for Nara.

The entrance cost is 600 yen.

Nara Park.

IMPORTANT INFO:

Nara Park is a large portion of the city that is just grassy park. If you walk around the city you will notice that deer roam freely all over. They are not scared of people and often approach people wanting food. All over the city little stands are selling deer crackers for 150 yen. If you want to feed the deer do it in Nara Park.

The der become a little crazy when people fed and they will swarm you. Some actually get aggressive. If you watch my YouTube video at the top of the post you will see footage of me being chased around by them.

Beware of the bucks. They have their antlers shaved down to little nubs. The bucks will headbutt you, one even got its nub stuck on my sisters back when it was ramming into her.

If you are in the park you will have much more space to run away from the deer if they swarm you.

They tell you to put your hands up if the deer come after you. It is so funny to me now when I watch the video footage of the deer going crazy.

In the moment it actually freaked me out. We did it in a busier place with less room to run and it got really frustrating.

Enjoy some cute pictures below of baby deer we saw walking around.

Kasuga Taisha.

Last stop we made during our day trip to Nara was at this temple. In a more secluded/ wooded area this temple is the perfect photo spot.

Check out the Instagramable shots!!!

It is well known for its path lined with lanterns. There are stone lanterns lining the path as well as metal ones hanging from the temple.

The bast part about this shrine is that if you don’t want to spay you can enjoy the outside and the path for free. If you want to enter it is 500 yen.

We decided to skip the entrance fee, but took advantage of the ability to walk around the grounds for free.