Name: Essentials of NARA | 2-Day Trip
Uploaded: 2025-07-18T18:33:42.000Z
Duration: 12 min 21 s
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Over 1300 years ago, Nara was established as Japan's first permanent capital.

Many historical structures in the area are related to Buddhism, which was introduced to Japan in the 6th century and embraced by the then ruling nobles.

As such, Nara and the area around it contain many temples, including some of Japan's oldest, numerous cultural and historical treasures and monuments.

Closed to both Osaka and Kyoto in western Japan, there are multiple train connections between Nara and the two major cities.

The city is well served by Kintetsu, a private railway company whose network extends as far as Nagoya and the Shima Peninsula, and connects Nara to both Kyoto and Osaka.

While Nara is doable as a day trip from either city, an overnight trip is best to do it justice and fully experience the former capital.

My name is Raina Ong, and join me on an overnight trip to the ancient capital of Nara.

A special train that connects Osaka and Kyoto with Nara is the sightseeing limited express Aoniyoshi, operated by Kintetsu Railway.

There are just a few round trips per day from Osaka and Kyoto.

The comfortable sightseeing train offers premium seats, and it is a comfortable way to travel in style.

We'll begin our trip by taking the train from central Osaka directly to Nara.

Then we'll spend the first day visiting the three major sites in Nara City, starting with Kofuku-ji Temple, then Todai-ji Temple, and Kasuga Taisha, before ending the day with dinner at our accommodation.

The second day begins with a stroll through a Japanese garden.

Then we'll go to the city's former merchant district, visiting a temple, and entering some restored merchant townhouses.

We'll have dinner and end the trip at a local craft beer brewery.

Before embarking on my walking tour of Nara City, I leave my bag at my accommodation's service counter in the city near Kintetsu Nara Station.

From there, a short five-minute walk takes me to Kofuku-ji, the family temple of the This central golden hall is the main and most important building of Kofuku-ji.

Since the establishment of the temple in 710, this hall has been rebuilt seven times, and the latest reconstruction was completed in 2018.

Also, not to be missed, Kofuku-ji's National Treasure Hall contains one of the most impressive and celebrated collections of Buddhist art in the country, many of which are national treasures.

Todai-ji is one of the greatest temples in Japan, and the approach to it leads through this massive 25-meter-tall wooden gate, also known as Nandai-mon.

It was built as the head temple of a nationwide network of government-run temples.

Todai-ji's main hall is one of the world's largest wooden buildings, and its main object of worship is a 15-meter-tall bronze statue of Buddha.

Part of the spacious grounds of Todai-ji Temple, the Niigata-do Hall is known for its beautiful views over Nara, and as the location of one of Japan's oldest recurring annual Buddhist ceremonies, Shunie, which has been held over 1,270 times without any disruption since its inception.

The ceremony takes place over the first two weeks of March, and some of the rituals involve plenty of fire.

From Todai-ji, it is about 10 minutes on foot to Kasuga Taisha.

Kasuga Taisha is the most famous Shinto shrine in Nara.

It was established by the powerful Fujiwara clan with the purpose of bringing peace to the country and prosperity to the people.

The spacious shrine grounds are free to enter, but the highlight is the paid inner area where one can get a close view of the elegant main hall.

I'm in the paid inner area, and behind me is the symbol of Kasuga Taisha.

Now one characteristic of Kasuga Taisha is its location within a primeval forest, which you can see behind.

Kasuga Taisha is also the origin and namesake for one of the more common architectural shrine styles.

One distinctive characteristic of the Kasuga-zukuri style is the sloping roof which extends over the front of the shrine like you can see behind me.

Mikasa Ryokan is located midway up Mount Wakakusayama, which means that guests will be treated to the nice views of central Nara.

The accommodation is a nice place to relax and enjoy an outdoor bath after a day of exploring the city.

Taking a bath after all that walking today really hit the spot, and now I'm ready for dinner.

My first stop for the day is Isuien Garden, a beautiful Japanese landscape garden between Kofuku-ji and Todai-ji.

Isuien is made up of two gardens that showcase the different periods they were created.

The front garden near the entrance is the older of the two and dates back to the late 17th century, while the rear garden was created in the early 20th century.

Part of the scenery you can see from here includes Nandaimon Gate which we passed through yesterday as well as the dark green primeval forest which surrounds Kasuga Taisha.

Nara-machi is a former merchant district, and as you can see, it retains a pleasant old-fashioned atmosphere.

Let's walk around and enjoy some of the sights in Brazil Town.

Gangoji Temple can be called Japan's first Buddhist temple.

It was built over 100 years before the establishment of Nara in the village of Asuka, about 20km south of Nara, where several previous capitals were located.

Originally known as Asuka-dera, the temple was moved to Nara when the capital was established and renamed.

A few minutes on foot from Gangoji Temple takes us to a nearby machiya or traditional residence named Koshino-ie.

A characteristic of machiya is that they're quite narrow because taxes used to be calculated based on the width of the storefront, but they're quite long on the inside to make up for it.

One design feature that I really like in the machiya are these hako kaidan.

On the one side, there's stairs leading to the upper floor, and on the other, the storage space.

It's both practical and an elegant way to save space.

Next, I visit the Karakuri Toy Museum, which is also housed in a machiya.

Here, over 200 mechanical toys from the feudal period have been reproduced for visitors to play.

To wind down my day, I make my way to Edogawa, an unagi or freshwater eel restaurant in central Nara-machi.

Tonight's dinner is a special unagi kaiseki course dinner that is limited to two groups a night.

And over here, I've got my appetizers, and all of them include unagi.

The unagi kaiseki course dinner is a multi-sensory dining experience, as the chef prepares the unagi before your eyes to the delicious smells and tastes of the dishes that follow.

You can taste the fat, but it's not overpowering.

I think this is like the best meal of my life.

Finally, before taking the train out of Nara, I stop by the local craft beer brewery to grab a pint and toast for the two full days in central Nara.

It's been a great two days in Nara, and there's no better way to end it than with local Nara craft beer.

And that was our two-day trip in Nara City.

I hope this video has been enjoyable and perhaps even inspires some ideas should you decide to plan a trip to Nara.

For more information about this trip or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now, or head over to japan-guide.com, your comprehensive, up-to-date travel guide first-hand from Japan.

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Essentials of NARA | 2-Day Trip

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