EXPLORING THE ANCIENT CAPITAL
✤ KASUGA TAISHA SHRINE
Kasuga Taisha whose serene beauty has not changed since its inception is a revered shrine with 3,000 auxiliary shrines across the country and 3,000 donated lanterns. The hall’s bright vermillion columns, white walls, and roofs of Hinoki cypress bark are a distinctive contrast with the surrounding ancient woods. Every 20 years the buildings are repaired, the tools and instruments are renewed, and ceremonial rituals are held strictly according to tradition.
✤ NARA PARK
Nara Park is one of the must-see parks. The vast area covers 660 hectares and is renowned for its free-roaming deer and world-famous temples. Feeding the deer is an important attraction and special crackers for the deer are on sale all around the park. There are traditional tea houses and kiosks selling visitors snacks and souvenirs.
✤ NARAMACHI AREA
Naramachi, is an old town that has escaped damage from the pacific war and continues to retain a traditional Japanese lifestyle, making it one of the rare towns in japan. It is as if time has stood still in the quaint town where visitors can stroll around on foot and visit unique cafes there.
✤ TAISEIAN
Taiseian was once located in the Horyuji Temple grounds but moved to the current location around 1870 when a retired priest wanted a teahouse in his own home. The current owner, a former music teacher who speaks English, is a world traveller and offers several teaexperiences; from basic matcha and wagashi which are traditional Japanese sweets, to a full tea ceremony with instructions. Low chairs are available for visitors who are unable to sit on the ground.
✤ NAKATANIDOU
Nakatanidou’s yomogi mochi suits all palates; whether they are locals or foreign visitors. It is an experience to see the speedy mochi pounding technique. Everyone is invited to try the perfected yomogi mochi at the shop.
✤ HEIJO PALACE
The Heijo Palace site is one of the World Heritage sites of Nara. Although once a majestic centre of the capital, all of its original buildings were lost except a single hall which now stands at Toshodaiji Temple. The former Audience Hall, the largest building on the grounds was reconstructed for the 1300th anniversary of Nara Capital in 2010.
✤ KŌFUKU-JI TEMPLE
Kōfuku-ji Temple is the head temple of the Hosso sect. Its predecessor, Yamashinadera, was built in 669 when Fujiwara no Kamatari became seriously ill. It is said that the temple was built to enshrine Buddhas such as the Shakyamuni Triad and the Four Heavenly Kings. In the third year of Wado (710), it was moved to Heijo according to a plan by Fuhito Fujiwara and was named Kofukuji.
✤ ISUIEN GARDEN AND NEIRAKU MUSEUM OF ART
Isuien is a spectacular Japanese garden with a stunning backdrop of the iconic Tōdai-ji Temple's Nandaimon Gate and Mount Wakakusayama.
It is divided into two parts, a front garden and a rear garden, with a number of tea houses scattered throughout. The Neiraku Museum of Art owns and displays more than two thousand art objects that survived the air raid of Kobe City in 1945.
✤ TODAIJI TEMPLE - NANDAI-MON (GREAT SOUTH GATE)
The Great South Gate is the main gate of Tōdai-ji and one of the largest temple entrance gates in Japan which was built using the Daibutsu style. The gate has a double hip-and-gable roof and is five bays wide and two bays deep. The eighteen giant pillars that support the roof measure twenty-one meters and the entire structure rises 25.46 meters above the stone plinth on which it rests. Prayers for harmony and well-being of the world and people are carried on to this day.
✤ NARA NATIONAL MUSEUM
The Nara National Museum is located in a corner of Nara Park surrounded by the Tōdai-ji Temple, the Kōfuku-ji Temple, and the Kasuga Taisha Shrine. With the cooperation of temples, shrines, and other cultural property owners, the museum conserves and studies cultural properties, including artworks and archaeological artefacts related to Buddhist art.