A day trip to Nara: the park, temples, and sacred deer

Dernière mise à jour de cet article le 23 March 2026

A day trip to Nara is a must-do when traveling in the Kansai region. Located just a few kilometers from Kyoto and Osaka, Japan’s ancient capital offers a fascinating immersion into the country’s history. With its UNESCO World Heritage-listed temples, ancient shrines, and a park filled with free-roaming deer, the city has a unique atmosphere. And we have to admit: walking among the deer really surprised us! With its peaceful and spiritual ambiance, Nara is clearly one of the places that leaves a lasting impression on a trip to Japan.

In this article, find out how to explore Nara in a single day, including the must-see sights you won’t want to miss and tips for making the most of your visit. You can also read Kiki’s advice, which will give you a quick lesson on how to park your car in Japan.

Day trip to Nara: the perfect 1-day itinerary

Here are the must-see attractions to explore during a visit to Nara, including its parks, temples, and city.

Visit Nara Park and its sacred deer

You can’t visit Nara without stopping by Nara Park. This vast park is home to over a thousand deer, which are considered sacred in Shinto tradition. Accustomed to visitors, they roam freely and aren’t shy about approaching people. In fact, you can buy special crackers (“shika senbei”) to feed them. They often come up to you or even “bow” to get a treat! A word of advice: stay alert—the deer can be persistent… especially at snack time!

When you’re in Nara Park, you’ll come across torii gates and even a statue of a deer!

In fact, in addition to the deer, you can visit historic sites within Nara Park.

Tōdai-ji and the Great Buddha

We’ll start with Tōdai-ji, one of Japan’s most impressive temples.

The sense of awe is immediate upon entering this monumental site, steeped in centuries of history. Indeed, it is home to the Daibutsu, a massive bronze Buddha statue standing over 15 meters tall. And you have to admit, you feel very small standing next to it.

Furthermore, the main hall, the Daibutsuden, is an architectural marvel in its own right. In fact, for many years, it was the largest wooden building in the world.

Kasuga-taisha and its legendary lanterns

Founded in the 8th century, Kasuga-taisha is famous for its thousands of stone and bronze lanterns. They line the paths and adorn the shrine’s buildings. In fact, the path leading to the shrine winds through a dense forest.

Kōfuku-ji

Located at the park’s entrance, Kōfuku-ji is easily recognizable by its five-story pagoda, one of the tallest in Japan. Unfortunately, it was under renovation during our visit. Furthermore, this former family temple of the powerful Fujiwara clan played a major role in the country’s political and religious history.

Ukimidō

Ukimidō is a small octagonal pavilion situated on Sagi-ike Pond, in the heart of Nara Park.
It is accessed via a small wooden bridge, which gives the impression that the structure is floating on the water.

A spot that tourists tend to overlook, but it’s really lovely!

Nara National Museum 

While you’re in Nara Park, you can take the opportunity to visit the Nara National Museum, which specializes in Buddhist art and ancient Japanese cultural heritage.

Nara is more than just its park and deer. We also invite you to explore its charming historic center.

Visit the historic center of Nara

Strolling through Nara’s historic center offers a more intimate atmosphere than the large park. In fact, around Naramachi, the narrow alleys lined with traditional wooden houses, small craft shops, and historic facades make you feel as though you’ve stepped back in time. Be sure to pop into the shops and chat with the locals.

In addition, during our walk, we stumbled upon the Goryō Shrine, a small Shinto shrine. It is associated with the worship of goryō—the spirits of people who died unjustly or tragically—whom people venerated in order to appease their anger. This type of shrine has a very long history in Japanese tradition.

We then went on to Sarusawa-ike, a pond located right in the heart of Nara’s historic center, just next to Kōfuku-ji.

This is probably where you’ll see your first deer if you didn’t start your tour of Nara at the park.

Visit downtown Nara

After exploring Nara’s historic center, be sure to take a stroll through downtown Nara. It’s a lively area, especially Sanjo-dori Street.

You’ll find plenty of restaurants and shops along this main street between the train station and the park.

Higashimuki Shopping Street

In Nara, there are covered shopping arcades located between the train station and Nara Park. The best known is Higashimuki Shopping Street. It is a long, covered pedestrian walkway lined with restaurants, souvenir shops, and more traditional stores. 

Try Nakatanidō’s giant mochi

When it comes to local specialties in Nara, you can’t miss out on yomogi mochi (green mugwort mochi filled with anko, a sweet red bean paste). They’re made at the Nakatanidō shop. It’s become a bit of a tourist attraction, and like any good tourists, we wanted to give it a try.

A pleasant surprise—the mochi is really delicious and super fresh.

How do I get to Nara?

From Kyoto, it takes about 45 minutes by train, and 40 minutes from Osaka. Kintetsu-Nara Station is the most convenient for accessing the main attractions directly on foot or by bus. We rented a car in Kyoto to get to Nara. Speaking of which, Kiki is going to give you a quick lesson on how to park your car in Japanese parking lots. Getting back to Nara, if we had to do it again, I think we’d take the train, since cities in Japan are well connected to one another. 

How do I get around in Nara?

You don’t need a car to explore Nara. You can take the bus and walk around the city. Be careful if you’re driving—a deer might just run out in front of you! 

There are also buses that leave from the train station and take you to the city’s most popular tourist spots. 

How long should I plan to visit Nara?

A full day is enough to see the highlights of Nara. However, we recommend staying overnight. That way, you can take your time and visit the museums and parks.

How can you include a day trip to Nara in your trip to Japan? 

Nara fits very easily into a travel itinerary in Japan. So, after experiencing the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, we headed to the Kansai region, stopping in Hakone to enjoy the volcanic landscapes and catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji. Next, a visit to Kyoto was a must, with its historic temples and shrines.

In fact, from Kyoto, it’s very easy to spend a day in Nara exploring its vast park, the famous Todai-ji Temple, and its free-roaming deer. Finally, to extend our experience of traditional Japan, we continued our journey to Kinosaki Onsen, a charming hot-spring town renowned for its onsens and authentic atmosphere. And we ended our trip in Osaka.

To get a better overview and plan your trip more effectively, I recommend my article on how to prepare for your first trip to Japan.

 Kiki’s opinion 

Haven’t been to Nara yet? Once you visit, you’ll never forget this city.

Kiki and the Deer

Kiki was very surprised to see so many deer moving about and sleeping everywhere as if it were the most natural thing in the world—whether in the middle of the street or in the entrance to a house. Here, it’s the deer that seem to be the masters of the place, not the residents: the latter are simply tolerated. But another event would ensure that Kiki would remember this town forever. Something that Sophie, of course, failed to mention in her article…

Parking in Japan

We’re talking here about parking in Japanese cities when you’ve booked a hotel. Space is scarce, which is why parking garages aren’t built horizontally, but vertically. You place your car in an elevator that automatically transports it upward and parks it somewhere. It sounds complicated, and it is. At least for Sophie. Just to clarify: Kiki is usually the one who drives, so he would have been the one to handle the parking. Kiki insists on the “would have.” But when you’ve left your driver’s license at home, that’s a bit of a problem. So Sophie had to prove her skills as a left-hand-drive driver all on her own during her stay in Japan.

Steps for parking your car in Japan

Which brings us back to parking in a fully automated parking garage. Here’s what to do:

Step 1: Check in advance to see if a parking space can be reserved in the parking lot. You can either ask at the hotel front desk or speak to the parking attendant, just as you did during your stay in Nara. If the attendant doesn’t speak a word of English, that’s okay. Just pay whatever he asks for. Kiki still doesn’t know exactly how much he paid back then.

Step 2: Drive up to the garage door, which will then open. This is where things get tricky: you have to park in that narrow space without hitting the side mirrors. And yes, most cars have a feature that lets you fold them down. Since Sophie and Kiki had a Toyota Corolla—and everyone in Japan knows that car—Sophie, who was completely lost, was quickly able to get help.

Step 3: Get out of the car, for heaven’s sake. You don’t want to end up getting towed along with the car in the parking lot. Sophie would probably still be sitting in the car if Kiki and the parking attendant hadn’t pointed out that little detail to her.

Step 4: Turn off the engine. It seems obvious, but in the rush—whether you have to get out of the car or not—it’s easy to forget to do so.

Step 5: Before the car disappears into the parking garage, remember to take your suitcases or bags with you if you plan to spend the night at the hotel and still need some items for your stay. This seems obvious, but the hustle and bustle can cloud your judgment.

Make the most of your stay in Japan

If you follow all these steps, you can relax completely and trust Japan’s very convenient parking system. Kiki is already looking forward to parking the car himself in a parking garage on his next road trip in Japan (just a little spoiler).