one of the beautiful temples you will see during your day trip to Nara

Day Trip to Nara, Japan: Ultimate Travel Guide (2024)

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Welcome to Nara, Japan’s first ancient capital and a city that beautifully blends rich history with tranquil natural landscapes. Just a short train ride from Kyoto and Osaka, a day trip to Nara offers a perfect escape from the crowded city life. Most tourists are drawn here to see the famous free-roaming deer that bow to get rice crackers, but we quickly discovered that Nara has much much more to offer. As you know from our blog, we always strive to uncover off-the-beaten-path experiences and try to avoid the typical tourist sites. So in this guide, we’ll show you how to make the most of your day trip to Nara, combining the must-see sights with many of our hidden gems.

cute deer that you will see during your day trip to nara

Is Nara worth visiting?

Yes! Nara is definitely worth visiting. In fact, other than the amazing time we spent on the Izu Peninsula, it was one of our favourite days during our 3 weeks in Japan. It is important to know, however, that Nara has so much more to offer than just those bowing deers. In retrospect, we personally felt the experience of the bowing-deers to be quite an artificial and inflated tourist attraction. 

We also noticed that many of the deer looked quite unhealthy, were confined within the park, and were sometimes quite aggressive with any tourists in possession of food. I only mention this to help set a proper expectation on the bowing deers since it is easy for an experience to be over-glorified by social media. 

So is Nara still worth visiting if not specifically for the deer?

Most definitely! Nara is full of incredible experiences and hidden gems, and we are here to guide you through them in this blog post.

woman standing in the nara park close to the deer

How far is Nara from Osaka/Kyoto?

Nara is located about 32km directly East of Osaka or 45km directly south of Kyoto. You can easily reach Nara by train, taking only about 45 minutes, which makes for an ideal day trip from Osaka or Kyoto. 

Once you arrive at the Nara station (or Kintetsu-Nara Station), the park, temples, and main shopping street are only 5-10 minutes walk away. From here, you can easily explore Nara’s main attractions on foot. The best part is that the combination of expansive open spaces and natural parks makes exploring Nara very relaxing and enjoyable.

map of a day trip to Nara from Osaka or Kyoto

Check out our PDF guide that includes a summary of 36 essential tips for traveling to Japan! If you want to read about all these tips in detail, check out our Japan traveling tips guide!

Nara 1 day Itinerary

Let’s go through some of our favourite and most memorable activities in Nara. We went at around 11am, but this schedule can be adjusted to both going early or late. You can also freely swap the order of activities to your liking!

Best Tuna bowl at Maguro Koya

Start off your day in Nara with what we consider the best Tuna bowl in Japan. We have tried countless tuna bowls across Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo and after 3 weeks, this by far stood out as the most delicious and memorable. The restaurant is called Maguro Koya and has been running in the family for generations, and thus can only be found in Nara. 

Once you arrive at Nara or Kintetsu Nara station, it is only a short 5 minutes walk to reach Maguro Koya. We recommend arriving right at the opening time of 11am since the restaurant is relatively small and you may need to lineup. We showed up at around 11:30am and had to wait 20 minutes for a table (which is not bad at all compared to what we had to wait in Kyoto)!

Their menu comprises of tuna bowls with different specialty cuts of Tuna. If you didn’t know already, the tastiest (and thus most expensive) cuts of tuna are the fattier ones, usually called Chu-Toro or O-toro. If it is your first time eating fatty tuna, we recommend ordering the Green Onion Tuna bowl which is a combination of fatty and lean tuna. 

However, if you want the ultimate experience, try out their ‘special menu’ Sea urchin & Green Onion Tuna Mix Bowl. This tuna bowl combined the best of the fatty tuna with abundant creamy fresh Sea Urchin from Okinawa. We savoured every spoonful and couldn’t help but smile on how lucky we are to experience this. We still find ourselves dreaming about that tuna bowl to this day.

tuna bowl during day trip to nara

Higashimuki Shopping Street and Mochi Show at Nagatanidou

Once you’re done eating, head south 2 blocks and you’ll reach the Higashimuki Shopping street. This narrow covered street is filled with boutique shops, restaurants, and local specialties. It is a fun area to walk through but continue on towards Nagatanidou to see the Mochi demonstration and get your dessert. 

Street in Nara

Located right at the exit of Higshimuki shopping street, Nagatanidou sells yomogi mochi, which is a flavorful treat made from the best glutinous rice, azuki beans, roasted soy flour, and Japanese mugwort. What made this shop really famous however were the mochi making demonstrations. 

mochi in Nara

Mochi making might not sound that exciting until you realize that it comprises of one chef slamming the mochi with a massive hammer while the other chef skillfully shapes it with his hands between the rapid hammer blows. The demonstrations occur at random times usually between 11am and 1pm. 

Before leaving, make sure to pickup their delicious mochi to go which costs around 180 yen for one.  

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Nara Park and temples

Next, head east a few blocks to reach Nara Park. What we loved about Nara Park is just how large and uncrowded it is, while blending historical elements of Japan with serene natural beauty. It’s best to explore Nara Park freely, without adhering to a strict itinerary or schedule.

temple deer and pagodas in NAra

Among its many attractions are several impressive temples, including Todai-ji TempleKofuku-ji Templeand Todaiji Nandaimon Temple, all of which are well worth a visit.

What we did was input them in Google Maps, and followed a route in that general direction. These temples do tend to get crowded and there will likely be lineups so you can also just admire them from outside. 

Temple in Nara

Nara Park deers

Once you enter Nara Park, you’ll begin to see the roaming deer. If you like, you can buy rice crackers from local vendors to feed the deer and even try to get them to bow for you. We saw many people attempt it with varying results.

deer in Nara park

We decided against feeding them after noticing many appeared unhealthy, and felt that overfeeding them with crackers likely doesn’t help. Additionally, we observed several deer becoming aggressive, chasing tourists with food and even head-butting them. 

Instead, we decided to just sit on the grass, giving the deer ample space and admire them from afar. Although the feeding of deers didn’t quite measure up to what we had anticipated, the blend of nature with groups of deer roaming around the park remains a wonderful and serene sight to behold. 

temple at nara park

In total, we spent around 2-3 hours walking around the various parks and seeing the temples. It was a lovely experience and the perfect relaxing escape after spending 5 days in busy Osaka. If you have extra time at the park, consider heading to Mount Kasuga Primeval Forest. We had planned to visit, but unfortunately, ran out of time.

Orange Cafe Suimon: the perfect rest stop

In addition to our memorable experience at Maguro Koya, we consider Orange Cafe Suimon another must-visit hidden gem in Nara. As we were finishing our walk through Nara Park, we stumbled upon this charming cafe.

From the outside, it resembled a beautifully maintained Japanese Minka (traditional tatami home), with large terrace windows overlooking a zen garden. The calming atmosphere drew us in, and we couldn’t resist exploring further. 

It turned out to be the perfect spot to relax, enjoy some Japanese tea, and savour the best matcha cake while soaking in the tranquil surroundings. Although the owners don’t speak English, their warm smiles helped us feel right at home. We spent an hour resting there, soaking in the peaceful Japanese atmosphere, until the closing time at 3pm.

If you intend to go, make sure to double-check their opening hours as they appear to be only open on Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday. If you enjoyed their matcha cake, then we would also highly recommend visiting Nana’s cafe. It’s a franchise so you should be able to find several of them in both Osaka and Kyoto.   

orange cafe in nara

Sake Tasting experience

To help work up your appetite before dinner, we suggest trying out a Sake tasting experience. If you didn’t know already, sake is the quintessential alcoholic beverage of Japan, with a history that dates back over a thousand years to ancient brewing techniques perfected by monks and artisans. 

During our stay in Japan, we participated in several sake tastings and thoroughly enjoyed not only the sake but also learning about the drink’s complexity. At one tasting, we sampled six different sakes in small glass cups, appreciating the unique characteristics of each. We then poured the remainder of each into small ceramic sake cups and re-tasted them. To our surprise, the ceramic cup amplified the roundness of the flavours by at least 40%! 

You can try it for yourself when you do the sake tasting but for us, this was mindblowing! I guess that’s why we drink red wine from nice wine glasses instead of plastic beer cups 😂!

A Sake tasting we would recommend in Nara is Harushika Sake Brewery Store. It costs just 500 yen and you get to taste 5 sakes. As a souvenir, you can also buy a Harushika original tasting glass for only 330 yen.  

Dinner with Gyukatsu

To finish up your day, we suggest having dinner in Nara. If you didn’t get to go to Maguro Koya for lunch, then we would highly recommend going for dinner. We had it for lunch but seriously contemplated going back again for dinner! 

Otherwise, try out another delicious Japanese specialty called the Gyukatsu. Gyukatsu is essentially a lightly battered, deep-fried beef steak. You can choose from different cuts, from sirloin, ribeye, and tenderloin, as well as selecting the size. 

gyukatsu meal in nara

In Nara, you can go to Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsuguyu. We went there and the food was delicious! It is also located on Higashimuki shopping street so you can finish up your shopping if you didn’t get a chance earlier on.

Return to Osaka or Kyoto

After dinner, you can head back to Osaka or Kyoto. Since we thoroughly enjoyed our day trip to Nara, we contemplated staying there for the night but we had already booked a hotel in Osaka.

If you are planning on staying in Nara, we would highly recommend checking out Tokyo Inn Kintetsu Nara. It’s a simple but very well thought out hotel. We stayed at several Tokyo Inns during our stay in Japan and was always satisfied!

If you are wondering how to get back to Osaka, you can check out the directions provided below. Alternatively, you can check the directions with Google Maps or the NaviTime app. They are both incredibly accurate and even show how much each route costs! 

After returning to Osaka, there are countless fun activities to do that are explained in our Osaka itinerary guide.

This post is part of our series about Japan. If you want to learn more about Japan, planning your trip, and some of the best experiences there, check out the guides below:


Nara day pass

Instead of paying for the return journey train, you also have the option of getting the Kintetsu Rail Pass. The pass costs only about 11 USD (which is cheaper than the return journey if paid regularly) and covers the cost of the return journey on the Kintetsu line and includes discounts to certain attractions. Furthermore, the Kintetsu line brings you to Kintetsu Nara station which is the closer station to Nara Park.

With regards to the discounts, they apply to shops in Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara, but the value seems to be relatively small at around 100-200 yen. It does however include the Nara Kotsu bus line so if you are planning on taking the bus in Nara, then it is definitely worth it.

Kintetsu rail pass

🎟️ Check out the Kintetsu Rail pass here!


How to pay for your transport from Osaka/Kyoto to Nara

Our first time to Nara, we were very confused at all the different passes available.

As a quick summary, the JR Kansai Pass will only help you ride the high-speed bullet train between the big cities like Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, Himeji, Kobe etc… It does NOT include the local metros/trains/buses. 

If you also want to include some activities such as TeamLab, then you can purchase the Activities Kansai pass and add the JR Kansai Pass as a premium add-on.

team lab in Osaka
Our visit to Team Lab Botanical Gardens in Osaka with our Kansai activties pass

However, you will still need a pass for your local metro and bus transportation needs, and that’s where the ICOCA card comes in. The ICOCA rechargeable card is pretty essential as you don’t want to need to rummage for change to buy individual tickets each time.

Below we’ll go into more details.

ICOCA card in Japan

JR Kansai Pass (for high-speed rail between cities)

JR Kansai WIDE Area Pass

The best way to get around the Kansai region, which includes:

  • Osaka
  • Kyoto
  • Nara
  • Kobe
  • Himeji
  • Tottori
  • Shirahama and more

is by purchasing the JR Kansai Wide Area pass. This pass covers almost all JR high-speed trains in the region and also covers the airport train line bringing you from Osaka airport to downtown. If you will be travelling between some of those main cities, then the JR West Kansai Wide Area pass is likely worth it.

🎟️ Check out the JR West Kansai Area pass = For wider Kansai travel

JR West Kansai Area Pass

If you are traveling not as wide, mainly going from Himeji to Kyoto, then maybe the JR West Kansai Area pass (This pass doesn’t have ‘wide’ in it) is more appropriate for you.

🏷️ Check out the JR West Kansai Area pass = For smaller Kansai travel

JR WHOLE Japan Pass

If, however, you will be traveling even wider, going from Hiroshima to Tokyo, then take a look at the JR Whole Japan pass.

🎫 Check out the JR Whole Japan pass = For all the high speed trains across Japan

I know, there seems to be a different pass for everything which also got us very confused! In the past, the JR pass was always worth getting but in 2024, the price went up significantly making it not as good of a deal.

Kansai Activities Pass for activities + JR Pass

Alternatively, you can buy the Klook Activities Kansai which includes 3-8 local attractions (depending on the option you choose) and you can add the JR Kansai Wide Area Pass as a premium add-on. This is what we did, and we ended up using some of our attraction passes to see the Teamlab Botanical Garden in Osakaa Kimono rental experience, and the Fu Fu No Yu Onsen experience.

Klook activities pass

For some reason, when we bought our Klook Pass Kansai, getting the 3 attractions + Premium add-on of JR Kansai Wide Area Pass ended up being cheaper than buying just the JR Kansai Wide Area pass alone on the JR website.

Not sure if it was a glitch or not but it’s certainly worth checking out and comparing.  

🎫 Check out the Klook Pass Kansai = For JR Kansai Wide pass + several attractions

ICOCA Card for all metros and buses

The JR Pass will help you quickly get around the big cities, but you will likely still need the rechargeable ICOCA card to pay for the local metros and buses. The ICOCA card is the equivalent of the SUICA card, which you can procure in the Tokyo region, and can be generally used interchangeably.

🔴 Make sure to get your ICOCA card right when you arrive in Osaka, preferably the airport, since the card is only available at certain branches. 

With the ICOCA card, you will be able to pay for your train ride to Nara, be it on the Yamatoji-Rapid line or the Kintetsu Nara line. It will also be used daily for getting around the local buses and metros/trains in Osaka/Kyoto/Tokyo. Make sure you double-check that your transporation passes cover your mode of transport. We made the mistake of thinking the JR Kansai Wide Area Pass also covers the regular metros and trains, which it does not. 

walking in the streets of Nara with old wooden building

Which pass we ended up getting

We ended up getting the Kansai Activities pass including JR Kansai Wide pass since just the Hello Kitty train from the Osaka airport to Downtown, and then a roundtrip ticket to Okayama already covered the full cost of the pass. This also allowed us to go see 3-4 attractions in Osaka and Kyoto. We then got the rechargeable ICOCA card to pay for all our other metro and local train transport. If you are unsure of which route is covered by the JR Kansai pass, then input your route in the app Navitime and it will show if it is covered or not.

Navigating Japan can be confusing, so we have compiled 36 helpful tips for traveling in Japan, including dining etiquette, awesome activities to try, money-tips, and more!


🗺️ Planning a trip to Japan? Check out our Complete Japan Itinerary Guide where we share our 10 days, 14 days, or longer Japan travel itinerary including what to do each day, where to stay, how to get around the country, and much more!

How to get to Nara from Osaka/Kyoto

How to get to Nara from Osaka

The ride from Osaka to Nara takes around 45 minutes and costs approximately 820 yen, depending on the train line you will be taking. Overall, there are two options:

  • Osaka Loop line (Yamatoji-Rapid Nara) (red) bringing you Nara station. This line is covered by the Japan Rail pass or Kansai Rail pass. This train route costs 820 yen. 
  • Kintetsu Nara line (orange) bringing you to Kintetsu Nara station, which is even closer to Nara Park. This line is not covered by the JR Rail passes. Instead, you can pay with your ICOCA card. This train route costs 780 yen. 
Japan fast rail

How to get to Nara from Kyoto

Regardless of where you are coming from for your day trip to Nara, the best way to get accurate and up to date directions is through Google Maps or the Navitime app. They provide not only the exact scheduled time of the trains, but also how much it costs and even what platform to stand on. 

The ride from Kyoto to Nara takes around 45 minutes and costs approximately 720 yen. There are three route options to choose from:

  • Rapid Miyakoji Nara Line (brown), served by JR West, bringing you to Nara station
  • Kintetsu Kyoto line (Express Kintetsu line-Nara) (orange), not included by the JR passes, bringing you to Nara station
  • Kintetsu limited express (orange), not included by JR Passes, which is faster at 34 minutes, but costs 1280 yen

Tours to Nara from Osaka/Kyoto

Nara is quite easy to explore on your own as a day trip. However, if you prefer a more guided experience, and don’t want to worry about getting the right tickets for the transport and figuring out where to go, here are some great tour options.

Tours from Kyoto

This Kyoto and Nara Golden Route 1 day tour from Kyoto is a full day experience that brings you to the highlights of both Kyoto and Nara. From Kyoto, you will see Arashiyama bamboo forest and the beautiful surrounding town, Kinkakuji Golden temple, and the imperial palace. If you want to see more detail about the best things to do in Kyoto, you can check out this post! Then in Nara, you will see the deer, Todaji temple, and multiple shrines. This is a small group tour and lasts around 11 hours!

Arashiyama forest in Kyoto woman standing
Arashiyama Bamboo forest in Kyoto

If a full-day tour is too much for you, then check out this afternoon Nara tour from Kyoto that lasts 6 hours. 

Tours from Osaka

If you are short on time and would like a guided experience of both Nara and Osaka, then this private tour is for you. You will be led by a Local Japanese guide who will bring you to visit all the best of Nara by air conditioned private van.

After your visit, you will return to Osaka to visit the highlights. There is also an option to visit the “dark tour” ghetto area of Osaka as well as Tobita-Shinchi (the red light district). This private tour can fit from 2-6 people.  

Osaka Castle in Osaka
Osaka Castle located in Osaka

If you would like to visit both Nara and Kyoto as a day tour, then this Kyoto + Nara tour from Osaka is perfect for you! You will get to visit highlights including Arashiyama, Kinkaku-ji, Nara park and the deers! The tour lasts around 9 hours so it is a fun-filled day!

Tours in Nara

Once in Nara, if you have the option of exploring the surrounding temples, shrines, and parks by an E-Bike tour. During this tour, you will not only see the highlights of Nara, but you will also get to visit one of their knife workshops!


FAQ

How long to visit Nara?

Nara can be visited as a day trip. There are countless temples there, as with most cities in Japan, so you definitely will not get to see everything. However, we feel that with one day, you will get a good taste of what Nara has to offer. If we were to redo our trip, I think we would stay just one night in order to experience a bit more of Nara. 

Is Nara Walkable?

Nara is very walkable. During our Day trip to Nara, we navigated through our whole 1 day itinerary on foot. There are buses available but since you will be visiting mostly parks, it is preferable to walk. 

Is it safe to feed the deer in Nara?

Feeding the deer and getting them to bow to you seems to have become the main attraction of Nara. However, as with any interaction with wild animals, there are certain risks.

During our day in Nara, we did see a few times groups of deer becoming aggressive against people in possession of food. They would chase after and head butt the person to coax the crackers off them. Nobody was hurt, but this is just one instance. 

We also heard of a fellow traveler who found a tick on his body after visiting Nara to feed the deer. Since these are wild animals, there is always a risk that they have some parasites on them. 

Overall though, we feel the activity is safe but it is always best to be aware of some of these minor risks.

pretty street in Nara, woman standing there posing

Where else to explore in Japan?

Japan is filled with so many amazing experiences! If you need help getting an overall idea of how to travel through the country, check out our 10 days Japan travel Itinerary Guide! There we delve into some of the highlight spots of Japan including the hidden gems of Tokyo, Kyoto, day trip to Nara, experiencing the best that Osaka has to offer, going off-the-beaten path road tripping through the Izu Peninsula and seeing some of the most amazing coastal views and having Ryokan experiences, and much more in-between!

Also, don’t forget to check out our essential travel tips in Japan so you can make sure your trip goes as smoothly as possible!

map of japan itinerary including kyoto, tokyo, osaka, and activities

Using WISE card in Japan

When taking cash out of an ATM while abroad, you will most likely be charged both a foreign exchange fee and a foreign transaction fee by that country’s ATM. With my Canadian card, this can easily be 3-4$ + 2.75% + a markup on the exchange rate charged by my bank, and then another 3-5$ charged by the foreign ATM.

Wise card

This can be really costly. For this reason, we recommend using WISE card which has only minimal fees and just about no foreign currency exchange markup. This helps me save at least 5-7$ every time I take out money from an ATM. If you want to see our full review of the card showing exactly how WISE can help you save, check out our WISE Travel card Review post.


Summary: Day trip to Nara

This Nara 1 day itinerary ended up being one of our favourite day trips during our stay in Japan. It is only a short 45 min train ride away and was the perfect escape from the busy city of Osaka and Kyoto. On top of that, the Tuna Bowl at Maguro Koya ended up being one of the best meals of our entire trip! From the beautiful roaming deer, serene nature, to delicious food, we consider Nara a must-do day trip!

Wondering what another must do hidden gem is in Japan? Check out the best things to do in Izu Peninsula or how to plan the ultimate izu road trip!

Temple in Nara Park

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