Top Nara Prefecture Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises

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.

 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.

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.

Explore Nara with a nationally-licensed and experienced multilingual guide! Your guide will help you efficiently enjoy a full-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 full-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 six-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 has flourished as a central city of Japan more than 1,000 years ago so it still has many remains and streets with ancient atmosphere! You will visit those streets on this tour, but also a café where you can play with owls and a spot where you can make your own plastic food model! You will also rent a “kimono”! Imagine the pictures you will take on historical streets wearing a “kimono”. No doubt that it will be the best souvenir for yourself of this tour! Talking about souvenirs for yourself, you will also make an Incense and an accessory made from deer horn! Don’t forget to book your tour to discover Nara and walk around the city in a “kimono”, 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!

Many regard Japan with temples and Buddhism, so why not visit the places regarded as the origin of Japanese Buddhism? We will visit Asaka, Nara. Asaka was the first place where Buddhism was introduced from China around the 7th century, there are temples with over 1000 years of history. Every temple is full of charm, rich in nature, and somewhere the Buddha is older than the Great Buddha of Nara. Which temple will you like the most? Your otomo tour guide will explain the sights one-by-one to you! Don't forget the electric bike! You can enjoy the scenery of a Japanese hometown by a paddy field. Cycling around the former capital by bike, maybe the start of a historic tour!

Registered as a UNESCO World Heritage, Mt.Yoshino in Nara has many shrines and temples to see. It is a spiritual place where the monks used to practise to gain enlightenment. In this tour, you will climb Mt.Yoshino and see World Heritage sites such as "Kinpusan Temple" with its large Buddha statue, and "Yoshino Mizuwake-Jinja" hidden in the mountains. Don't miss the spectacular view from the top! If Spring, the cherry blossoms will be in full bloom and you will see a view like no other. Want to get away from the busy city, and experience serenity? This is the plan recommended for you, you will feel refreshed after seeing the vibrant nature and historic shrines.

In Old Japan, many enjoyed a visit to the temple via a long, crowded highway where the town flourished around it. It is in Nara this atmosphere remains to this day! Firstly, we will visit "Hase temple." Drop by an old liquor shop or Japanese confectionary shop to experience the travels of the past. Go up the 399 stairs of Hase temple where a dynamic view and main hall awaits! The view from the theatre is super, there is also no doubt you will be overwhelmed by the size. Later we will visit Odamo, a castle town that flourished along the Ise road to Ise-Shrine. There are several old stores, including sake breweries, Japanese confectionary stores and old private cafes. A great atmosphere!

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!

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!

How about visiting the oldest five-storied pagoda in the world and world heritage, Horyuji Temple with your otomo guide? Horyuji Temple has brought the dawn of Japanese Buddhism and is the oldest world heritage in Japan. There are many historical Buddhist image and structures that will make you excited and overwhelmed! The five-storied pagoda there is the oldest one in the world, but its quake-proof technique of the structure is the same as used in TOKYO SKYTREE! You will also visit an ancient tomb, a unique temple, the countryside with fields and rice fields, and a café peculiar to a historical city! Don’t forget to book your tour to visit the oldest world heritage in Japan!

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!

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!

Don’t miss the famous Buddhist image of Todai-Ji temple and the three thousand bamboo lamps at “Kasuga-Taisha” if you come to Nara! We will take you there and give detail explanation about them on this tour. You will first visit the popular hall of the great Buddha which is a national treasure and world cultural heritage. “Nigatsu-do” which is located behind Todai-Ji temple is not so popular, but the view of the whole city from there is superb! After hiking through a forest with wild deer and visiting a famous Japanese sword shop, we will get to “Kasuga Taisha”. The three thousand bamboo lamps there is beyond description! Don’t forget to book your photogenic tour!

Hiking tour in Mt. Kasuga Primeval Forest, surrounded by beautiful nature, various plants and animals, and amazing picturesque views. Mt. Kasuga Primeval Forest is located in the main area of Nara City and very close to Nara Park. It has remained untouched for thousands of years and has been carefully protected as the sacred forest of the Kasugataisha Shrine. There are over 800 types of trees, wild animals, rare birds and insects. Takisaka-no-Michi path, one of the famous hiking courses in the forest, passes a waterfall and small caves carved with Buddha figures. It is said to be a training path for monks in Nara and you can see the objects of faith along the way. The path leads to Yagyu Village known as the birthplace of the Yagyu Shinkage School of swordsmanship. The statue of Kubikiri Jizo appears along the way. It has been sliced at the neck by a sword. According to folklore, it was used by the master swordsman to test his blade.

"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)

Being refreshed and comforted in the cobalt colored pool fed by the waters of a river in an unspoiled gorge. Dorokyo Gorge in the Yoshino Kumano National Park. The river gorge with its cobalt blue pools, created by natural forces over many thousands of years, is a sublime sight. You'll have a special trip down to the beautiful Dorokyo George on the Kawasemi riverboat. Passengers are usually not allowed to get off the boat, but this plan will allow you to land on the bank where you can have a bento lunch box featuring local delicacies.

Enjoy meeting the local folk living in Totsukawa Village. Experience the Bon Odori Musashi O-Odori dance which has been held for more than 300 years. The Musashi O-Odori is a dance which has been passed down from generation to generation, and has been designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. You can wear the actual Bon Odori costumes for the traditional dance, and hear lectures given by locals. A great opportunity to meet and enjoy the company of the friendly locals in Totsukawa.

Walking in a World Heritage area ～the Hatenashi Pass on the Koheji route connecting Mount Koya and Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine. The Koheji, one of the Kumano Kodo routes, has been used for centuries as a path, through steep mountains, connecting Mount Koya and Kumano. Trekking this route from Kumano Hongu to Totsukawa offers an opportunity to fully appreciate nature, with many beautiful sites, including Hatenashi hamlet, the so-called Tenku no Sato (Village in the Sky), and old paved paths. Of course, we wold be happy to advise if you would like us to help you arrange a different course. *This is a 1-night, 2-day trip where you will interact with local people and feel true Japanese culture.

Learn about Japanese kami (nature spirits) whilst practicing formal ways in which to worship and meditate. Under the guidance of a priest at Tamaki Shrine, a site included in the World Heritage ‘Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range', you will learn about formal worship. Away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, an experience of meditation will refresh both body and mind. *This is a 1-night, 2-day trip where you will interact with local people and feel true Japanese culture.

The skills of a craftsman that create beautiful Japanese sweets, in a space filled with the Naramachi atmosphere! Established in 1913, Nakanishi Yosaburo Nara Sweets is an old Japanese sweet shop located among the traditional machiya townhouses in Naramachi. Valuing traditional flavors and a creator’s mind, putting time and effort into making Japanese sweets that express the passing four seasons has been the secret to their popularity. Now exclusive to this program, you can enjoy the experience of both making and sampling sweets in a private room that is usually not open to the public. After making two kinds of raw sweets and one kind of dried sweet, please truly enjoy the craftsman’s recommended “marriage” of Japanese sweets and Japanese sake.

Maximize your time in Nara with a private walking tour that puts you in touch with the real city—via a local who loves it. It’s simple: explain your travel wants, meet your Nara local, and enjoy a tour that puts Nara at your feet. Learn ways to get around, places to see, and hidden local hotspots, and get the info needed to get the most from your visit.

-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!