Top Nara Prefecture Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises

Join the highlights Tour at Nara Cycle Tours and meet other travelers, or do it in private and your guide can make this day special for your own group.

If you don’t speak Japanese, it can be hard to navigate Japan like a local. This tour of Nara, Japan’s ancient capital, is designed to  help you do just that. Leave the crowds of Kyoto behind and discover the peaceful city of Nara: its temples, shrines, traditional houses and divine deer. Explore the backstreets and alleys of the merchants district, and try authentic street food.

Explore Nara away from all tourists, on a bike, reach the top of Wakakusayama Mountain, explore a lost temple in the forest, admire hidden Buddhist statues carved in stone... A tour that mixes sport, nature and Japanese history for a very unique experience and amazing memories.

This Activity was created for two categories of guests. Japanese people can experience a full reception/ production English-based activity on Japanese culture. People from overseas will enjoy exploring the city on their own. They learn about new places, Japanese history, and culture. All combined with a Scavenger Hunt concept, to make it more interesting and fun.

-Time to start the Nara historical walking tour- We will explore a Japanese old town that is extremely different from what we know of metropolitan Tokyo. Walking between the historical buildings, we can go inside a merchant's house and see how the people around here lived. -Continue to walk to a secret spot, which has been hidden for centuries- Welcome to a hidden Japanese pyramid. Let's take a break from walking(or hiking) as you observe this mysterious structure in the middle of a quiet town. -Walk inside Nara park and interact with cute wild deer- Explore the beautiful red shrine housing hundreds of lanterns and go see a huge temple with a great Buddha statue. Around here, you can interact with some wild deers. You will see how "polite" they are! Magical Trip is a local tour operator with the TripAdvisor certificate of excellence that offers various types of small-group tours throughout Japan! Check out our Trip Advisor Page for more tours and our reviews!

Discover a town famed for its Edo-style castles and orange goldfish on a half-day tour of Yamato-Koriyama from Nara. In a small group limited to 9, you’ll visit town highlights such as Koriyama Castle and a Goldfish Museum before stopping for a snack at K Coffee, a cafe that features fish tank converted from a phone booth. Plus, you’ll visit a goldfish farm to learn more about the popular pets.

Explore Nara with a nationally-licensed and experienced multilingual guide! Your guide will help you efficiently enjoy a half-day walking tour of Nara and introduce both modern and traditional sides of this dynamic and ancient Japanese city. Nara's proximity to Kyoto and Osaka, and its rich collection of traditional sites, make it an ideal destination for a day trip from either of its larger neighbors. Your private guide can help you efficiently enjoy a half-day walking tour of this ancient Japanese city. You can start your day at your hotel in Osaka, Kyoto. Let us know what you would like to experience and we will customize a four-hour tour that's best for you! Note*1: Please select your must-see spots from a list in the tour information to create your customized itinerary. Note*2: The Nationally-licensed Tour Guide-Interpreter certification is issued by the Japanese government requires a good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history.

Nara's charm is not only deers but also its traditional country lifestyle, which has been inherited from generations to generations.Half a day off-the-beaten walk to an oldest road "Yamanobe no michi" will lead you to deep cultural understanding on satoyama villages. You will come across small farm stands and people's life.

Come with me to discover Yoshino, in the South of Nara prefecture! Surrounded by nature and inside mountains, Yoshino is the place to visit especially during the beautiful sakura season, better between April 13~15. But even out season, Yoshino is a high place of History, mostly with Kukai, Buddhist monk from the 9th century the Southern Imperial Court of Japan (14th century).

, where the spiritual aspect is important, It is a martial art that nurtures the spirit of nature, human reason, social justice, and values the spirit of peace and harmony. This martial art is not intended to defeat the enemy. Instead of competing with the opponent by power, it is not a skill of leaving power, but rather a technique that uses the opponent's power reasonably. The quick and reflexive movement that avoids personal dangers will bounce off the thugs that suddenly attack you, and it will also exert its power for self-protection. Learn the Aikido self-defense technique that can be recommended as a self-defense technique for weak women, and experience a wonderful experience that teaches your spirit and skills to your friends. Why don't you drop your mind, feel confident in your power and feel calm?

Imaicho in Kashihara City, which preserves Japan's unique cityscape, It is a very precious place in Japan that has been designated as an important traditional building preservation area. Why don't you experience Japanese culture in a wonderful place where the unique history of Japan is protected? Have a relaxing time to relieve your travel fatigue.

This tour is the occasion to present you a Japanese village with a glorious past. Asuka dates from Japanese protohistory. Yamato land sometimes established there its capital which were not fixed in the 6th~7th century before moving "for good" to Heijo-kyo in 710. Asuka is nowadays a big village with 5620 inhabitants. Relatively close to nearby cities, farmers and townsmen willing for better living standards live together. This village is still proud of its past and shows it to us. This ancient capital place also aims to be registered as UNESCO World Heritage in 2024 as "Asuka-Fujiwara: Archaeological sites of Japan’s Ancient Capitals and Related Properties". Furthermore, unlike other cities, Japanese urbanism is well respected. We can visit an old town as it was during Edo Period (1600-1868) between all the historical sites. This Edo atmosphere is also worth it.

Are you excited to hear there is a 1300 years old remain under reconstruction? If yes there is no way to skip this tour! Its been more than 60 years since a research team started digging and reconstructing Heijo Palace but it is said that only one-third of it is revealed so far. But in 2018 a memorial park was built where you can visit reproduced huge buildings by bikes and Segway! You will also a dynamic video showing the ancient days on a five dimension screen in a VR theater. You can enjoy the thousand-year-old remain and the latest technology at the same time on this tour! Don’t forget to book your tour to visit a famous remain, with your otomo guide!

You will visit three world heritages of the eight in Nara on this tour! If you like Japanese architecture, history or art you better book this tour right now! Each of the spots you will visit has interesting features such as a three-storied pagoda which looks like to have six stories and a small five-storied pagoda stored in a room. If you are lucky, you can take pictures of the illuminated five-storied pagoda with deer around it! To visit all those spots, you will have to use public transportation which is troublesome in a foreign country, but you have your otomo guide on this tour who will take you around! Don’t forget to book your tour to visit the world heritage with your otomo guide!

Learning calligraphy is a practical hobby of learning aesthetic expressions through letters and beautifying life. By expressing the unique beauty that enriches your heart, you will improve your quality of life. In addition, the work of concentrating and writing letters neatly leads to a training to improve personality. Japanese calligraphy begins with the introduction of Chinese kanji, but it is a precious culture that sublimates Japanese language into aesthetics through letters. Please experience the aesthetic appearance of the characters that have been handed down for many years in a traditional Japanese town.

Have you heard of Yamatokoriyama city? Although it is not really famous in Japan, It has many tasteful areas remaining from the Edo period and also traditional industry such as indigo dyeing and Japanese sweets. The ruin of Koriyama castle which was built more than 400 years ago still has the stone wall used back then. The view you see there might be the same as samurais saw 400 years ago. Not those samurais itself but their side business that make this city special. They started to cultivate goldfish and Yamatokoriyama is now one of the largest producing areas of goldfish in Japan! Don’t forget to book your tour to visit the town of goldfish and explore the traditional culture!

Nara has many tourist attractions to visit. But surely you have no time? Rental bicycles are the best way to get around the sights efficiently. With a bike you can drop in anywhere you like. You can move around comfortably while looking at the beautiful city, without worrying about traffic jam like a car. ■All bicycles are maintained by mechanic. ■You can rent a bike for up to 24 hours at one day price ■Returnable after closing ■There are also many other types of bicycles, such as city bike or kids bike. Please check our website for details. ■Child seat is available for free. But please note that children weighing less than 22 kg can sit in it. ■There are only a few small electric bicycles (22-inch), so if you need a smaller size please email us in advance.

Have you ever heard of Asukamura? It is a historical area which has many remains and is even more mysterious than the famous Nara area! You will discover this area on this tour and visit many rare spots such as an ape and a turtle made from stone, a remain which is said that a demon used to live at, and a huge remain maid from stone. Once you see those remains, you will be overwhelmed and can't stop thinking who made it for what sake! You will ride a motor-assisted bike to visit all those spots through the countryside with fields and rice fields which will make you feel you are in Japan! Don’t forget to book your tour to visit mysterious remains, with your otomo guide!

"Experience Nature" Totsukawa special experience Totsukawa is the largest of Japan's 183 village districts. No less than 96% of the district is covered by forest. We have created a program which offers the chance to see what life is like for the local people who live so close to nature in this little visited corner of Japan. You are certain to be given the warmest of welcomes by the local folk, and to gain insights into the ways in which they live in harmony with nature. This is a special plan that allows you to enjoy traditional dishes like meharizushi and the Totsukawa Oh-odori dance (a registered intangible important folk cultural property) with local people. *This is a 1-night, 2-day trip where you will interact with local people and feel true Japanese culture. *We are offering a ticket to enjoy some of the onsen hot spring baths in Totsukawa Village, as a present just for people who apply in 2020. (first come first serve, limited availability)

Nara city is rapidly gaining popularity as a tourist destination. As the capital of Japan in the 8th century, it can offer a variety of old temples and shrines, but also the charm of its former merchants’ quarter with quaint old houses serving as shops or restaurants. In this tour we will visit the biggest and most famous temple and shrine dating back to the 8th century as well as the old townscape.

Interested in an elegant mixture of ancient and modern Japanese culture? The ancient city Nara with a history of longer than 1,000 years would be the best place for you! Especially, the Naramachi area still has beautiful traditional houses and modern shops renovated from ancient facilities. You will have a Japanese breakfast at a renovated traditional Japanese style house. There is a lot that makes this tour a special one: a traditional Japanese style house which is older than 300 years, toys children used to play with back then, a breathtaking statue of Buddha, and more! Don’t forget to book your tour to appreciate the great harmony of the ancient and modern Japanese culture!

Kashihara-jingu shrine is quite new (1889) and was built during Meiji imperial restauration. The emperor wanted his power to be reaffirmed and so built this shrine, even giving some buildings from Kyoto imperial palace, in the very place where were held the first imperial government (660 BC). Emperor Jinmu is enshrined in this place. After visiting Kashihara-jingu, we go to Imai-cho, Japanese traditionnal city. At first, temple town, it became a trade city during Edo period. Its architecture did not change and now, we still can visit this town as it was during Edo. Visiting Kashihara, we can know more about Japanese History while having a great time outside.

 Let's enjoy the city of Ikaruga, a world heritage town by bicycle! If you are within the usage time, you can freely stroll around your favorite places. In Ikaruga-cho, there are many attractions such as Horyu-ji and Hoki-ji, which are world heritage sites, as well as Horin-ji, Yoshida-ji, Fujinogi tumulus, and Tatsuta-gawa. Luggage storage during the rental cycle is free of charge, so you can enjoy cycling casually with your hands. All bicycles are equipped with shifting gears, so you can easily go uphill! An electric bicycle (one) is also available, so please choose according to your preference. ◆ ◇ Lending location ◇ ◆ ・ Nara Ikaruga Tourism Waikaru (Free parking and luggage storage available) ◆ ◇ Use time ◆ ◇ 9: 00-18: 00 ◆ ◇ Price ◆ ◇ 1,500 yen a day In addition, there are plans for 1 hour (300 yen), 2 hours (600 yen), 3 hours (800 yen), and 5 hours (1,200 yen). ◆ ◇ Return ◆ ◇ Final return is 18:00 (on time) ☆ Guidance of neighboring facilities ☆ Horyuji Temple Hours: 8: 00-17: 00 (16:30 in winter) Admission fee: General 1,500 yen / Elementary school student 750 yen Horinji Temple Hours: 8: 00-17: 00 (16:30 in winter) Admission fee: 500 yen for adults / 400 yen for middle and high school students / 200 yen for elementary school students Hokiji Temple Opening hours: 8: 30-17: 00 (16:30 in winter) Admission fee: General 300 yen / Elementary school student 200 yen Yoshida Temple Opening hours: 9am to 6:30 pm Admission fee: Adults (high school students and older) 300 yen / Junior high school students 200 yen / Elementary school students 100 yen You can also experience making a red stamp book at Yoshidaji Temple. For details, see the following page. ※ Please confirm before you leave ※ (1) Bicycles are thoroughly inspected, but please check by yourself before departure. (Brake, transmission, pedal, tire pressure, etc.) ② When you leave your bicycle, be sure to lock it. ③ In case of theft or damage, please pay our actual expenses. ら Please return the key to the counter when you return. ら Please call 0745-75-8055 if you have any troubles such as puncture or breakdown.