Nara

Nara is a city in the Kansai region of Japan. (See also Nara prefecture for the surrounding prefecture.) Overshadowed by its more famous neighbour Kyoto, Nara is omitted from many a time-pressed tourist’s itinerary. However, Nara was a capital long before Kyoto, and today preserves its main sights much more attractively than Kyoto within the large Nara Park. Get in By plane Nara does not have its own airport, so most visitors arrive via Kansai International Airport (change trains in Osaka) or Osaka’s Itami Airport. By trainFrom Kyoto station, both the JR Nara Line and the private Kintetsu Kyoto line will get you to Nara quickly. Kintetsu is slightly cheaper and Kintetsu Nara station is better located that JR Nara, but travellers may have to change at Yamato Saidaiji for the last hop into town. The fastest route from Osaka is to take the private Kintetsu Nara Line from Namba station. If using the Japan Rail Pass, you can also travel on JR from Tennoji via Oji, but this adds a bit of a detour and takes longer. Get aroundNara’s public transportation system is limited to buses. The ¥100 shuttle bus provides a cheap and cheerful service from the Kintetsu train station to many points of interest in central Nara. Once within Nara Park, you can simply walk to almost all the sites. See Temples & ShrinesTodaiji temple and the world’s largest wooden building Daibutsuden, housing one of the world’s largest Buddha statues Kofukuji Kasuga Taisha Museums & HistoryNara National Museum, with one of the world’s best collections of Buddhist art and changing exhibitions Naramachi, the traditional district of town (Article from/based on Wikitravel article and may be copied freely) |