Explore Nara

Heijō Palace was the imperial residence and seat of government of Nara, Japan's capital from 710 to 784. Its excavated site, part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara World Heritage Site, is an open grassland where the Former Audience Hall (rebuilt 2010), the Suzaku Gate and the East Palace Garden have been reconstructed.

Tōshōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple in Nara, head temple of the Ritsu school, founded in 759 by the Chinese monk Jianzhen (Ganjin). Its single-storey Golden Hall with a hipped tiled roof dates from the 8th century, and the Lecture Hall is a building moved from Heijō Palace; both stand in a gravel courtyard among pines.

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple in central Nara, moved here in 710 as the family temple of the Fujiwara clan and head temple of the Hossō school. Its Central Golden Hall was rebuilt in 2018, the National Treasure Museum shows statues such as the Ashura, and the five-storey pagoda of 1426 is under repair until about 2033.

Gangō-ji is a Buddhist temple in the Naramachi quarter of Nara, the successor of Asuka-dera, one of Japan's first temples, moved here in 718. The great temple was largely lost in the Middle Ages; the surviving Main Hall and Zen Room still carry roof tiles from Asuka-dera and are part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.

Yakushi-ji is a Buddhist temple in Nara, head temple of the Hossō school, founded by Emperor Tenmu in 680 and moved to Nara in the early 8th century. Its East Pagoda of 730 is the only original building; the vermilion Golden Hall and West Pagoda were rebuilt in the 1970s and 1980s, and the Golden Hall holds a bronze Yakushi triad.

The Nara National Museum, opened in 1895 in Nara Park, collects Buddhist art: sculpture, painting, calligraphy and ritual objects. Its original Western-style hall by Katayama Tōkuma is closed for renovation until about spring 2028; the East and West New Wings hold the exhibitions, including the annual autumn Shōsō-in exhibition.

Isui-en is a Japanese stroll garden in Nara, next to Tōdai-ji, made of two gardens: a front garden from the 17th century and a larger rear garden laid out in the Meiji era. Ponds, stepping stones and lawns borrow the view of Tōdai-ji's Great South Gate and Mount Wakakusa, and the Neiraku Art Museum stands on the grounds.

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple in Nara founded in the 8th century under Emperor Shōmu, with its Great Buddha consecrated in 752. The Great Buddha Hall, rebuilt in 1709, houses a bronze statue of Vairocana Buddha about 15 metres tall; the Nandaimon gate, the Nigatsu-dō hall and the temple museum stand in the wide grounds.

Nara Park, established in 1880, covers more than 500 hectares at the foot of Mount Wakakusa on the east side of Nara. Around 1,300 sika deer, protected as a natural monument, roam its lawns and woods, which surround Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga-taisha and the Nara National Museum.

Kasuga-taisha is a Shinto shrine in Nara founded in 768 for the Fujiwara clan at the foot of the sacred Mount Mikasa. Its vermilion halls with cypress-bark roofs stand in old forest, reached along paths lined with stone lanterns; with the bronze lanterns of its corridors it holds some 3,000. The shrine museum and the Man'yō Botanical Garden belong to it.