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Nara Park Classic Tour: Explore All Must-Sees in 3 Hours From JR Nara
4.9
97 Ratings
Nara
Join our Nara Park Classic Tour and explore all the must-see attractions in just 3 hours. Our knowledgeable guide will provide historical insights and show you the best picture spots. Don’t miss out on this engaging walking tour!
Join our Nara Park Classic Tour and explore all the must-see attractions in just 3 hours. Our knowledgeable guide will provide historical insights and show you the best picture spots. Don’t miss out on this engaging walking tour!
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
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Nara Station - The meeting point is JR Nara Station. The guide will be waiting in front of the ticket gates. There is only one set of ticket gates at JR Nara Station, so simply exit and look for the guide holding a white NaraWalk flag.
*Note: If you encounter ticket gates at an underground level, you are at Kintetsu Nara Station, which is…
-
Nara Station - The meeting point is JR Nara Station. The guide will be waiting in front of the ticket gates. There is only one set of ticket gates at JR Nara Station, so simply exit and look for the guide holding a white NaraWalk flag.
Note: If you encounter ticket gates at an underground level, you are at Kintetsu Nara Station, which is approximately a 15-minute walk from JR Nara Station. - Kasuga Grand Shrine - Stroll through the precincts with the guide, and you will likely see deer wandering around. Discover why deer roam freely in Nara, learn about the differences between Shinto and Buddhism, and more.
- Todai-ji Temple - Visit the Great Buddha Hall to see the Big Buddha. The guide will share stories about the Big Buddha statue and the temple. It’s a great spot for photos.
- Nara Park - Our destinations, including Todaiji Temple, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, and Kofukuji Temple, are all located within Nara Park. Depending on the season and the group’s pace, additional spots within Nara Park may be included.
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Kofuku-ji Temple - The tour typically concludes at this temple. The five-storied pagoda is very photogenic. After providing historical insights, the guide will be happy to offer directions to train stations, suggest afternoon plans, and recommend lunch options.
(From June to September, when heatstroke is a concern, the tour may only include Kasuga Grand Shrine, Nara Park, and Todaiji Temple. If the weather permits, Kofukuji Temple may also be visited.
Kofukuji Temple’s iconic five-storied pagoda is undergoing major repairs, scheduled to be completed by March 2031. The tower may not be visible until the project is finished.)
What's Included
- Bus ride from JR Nara Station to Nara Park
- Admission included to Great Buddha Hall
- Bus ride from JR Nara Station to Nara Park
- Admission included to Great Buddha Hall
What's Not Included
- Meals and Drinks
- Meals and Drinks
Additional Information
Embark on an informative walking tour, illuminating the prime attractions of the Nara Park area. Spare your attention from smartphones or guidebooks, and take in the captivating city. Rest assured, our guide will inform you about historical details, photogenic spots, deer encounters, and more. Expect the tour to conclude by 1 pm, leaving you ample time…
Embark on an informative walking tour, illuminating the prime attractions of the Nara Park area. Spare your attention from smartphones or guidebooks, and take in the captivating city. Rest assured, our guide will inform you about historical details, photogenic spots, deer encounters, and more. Expect the tour to conclude by 1 pm, leaving you ample time for independent exploration.
Please note that this is not a private experience, but a group tour involving multiple guests.
We value punctuality and do not await latecomers. In case you fail to appear on time at the designated spot, regrettably, you won’t be able to participate in the tour.
- The tour route includes steps and a gravel path where you would need to carry or need a harder push for your baby stroller.
- If you are arriving at Kintetsu Nara Station, please come to JR Nara Station. We cannot meet or pick you up at Kintetsu Nara Station, since this is not a private tour. We take a bus from JR Nara Station, and we do not stop at Kintetsu Nara Station.
- The tour starts punctually. As this is a group tour, we do not wait for those who cannot or does not appear on time at the meeting spot. If you arrive late, unfortunately you cannot join the tour.
Location
Nara Station
*Meet your guide in front of the ticket gate at JR Nara Station. JR Nara Station has only one ticket gate. Just come out, and find a NaraWalk guide with a white flag! (Ticket gate is a machine you tap your IC card or insert your train ticket.)
*There are two "Nara Station" in Nara. Please come to JR Nara Station, not Kintetsu Nara Station.
*If you have arrived at Kintetsu Nara Station, please come to JR Nara Station. This is not a private tour, and our only meeting place is JR Nara Station.
*The tour starts punctually. As this is a group tour, we do not wait for those who cannot or does not appear on time at the meeting spot. If you arrive late, unfortunately you cannot join the tour.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(97 Ratings)
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Peppjoy
Jul 21, 2025
- It’s a beautiful park and the deers make the experience a bit surreal. We respected them as wild animals and had no issues. We had the opportunity to see a Shinto ceremony, and our guide was very knowledgeable as she grew up in the area.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
N7272vvstephaniel
Jul 10, 2025
Great tour…the Deer were awesome! - This was one of our favorite excursions in Japan. Our guide, Reiko, was so kind and sweet. She taught us so much and we had a lot of fun. The deer were AMAZING!! Definitely an unforgettable experience. Thank you Reiko-San for a great day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alyssa_e
Jul 2, 2025
Nobuko was a gem! - Nobuko was AMAZING!!!! She was so kind, patient, and knowledgeable throughout the whole tour. She was warm and lovely to talk to, and so accommodating for each person’s needs and interests. We learned a lot about the deer and temples at Nara and got to feed them (and even saw a baby deer!). Having a guide added so much value and knowledge to my experience. On the way back downtown she personally showed me around a lovely hidden gem, a Japanese garden. It was beautiful and I was so touched by the gesture. I truly can’t recommend her enough, thank you for a great morning, Nobuko!!!
Review provided by Viator
752vancec
Jun 30, 2025
Nara Walk with Reiko is AWESOME!!! - Our experience with Reiko from Nara Walk started the day before when we were contacted to confirm the time and meeting point.
Nothing was too much trouble as Reiko kindly amended the tour schedule to accommodate a member of our party experiencing mobility issues. Such a warm, friendly, and knowledgable person perfectly suited to her role as tour guide.
After brief introductions, we were ushered onto a local bus heading past the deer park to a stop near to the Kasuga Grand Shrine. Stopping briefly, Reiko explained the history of Nara as a former capital of Japan, why the deer are considered sacred, a Japanese soccer team featuring deer as their logo, plus a discussion about Shinto and Buddhist religions and their deep seated connections to the Nara region.
Reiko was eager to learn all about us, where we're from, our ages, occupations, hobbies, general likes/dislikes before going on to share her own family history and personal connection to Nara. So lovely and it made for such an amazing personalised experience!
We made an offering at the Kasuga Grand Shrine and took a heap of pictures...such wonderful memories. We fed some very placid, well-mannered deer along the way with cookies kindly provided by Reiko. Our kids loved it!
Next it was the Todai-ji temple and Great Buddha Hall. Reiko kindly provided a veritable wealth of information about both...how the Great Buddha was constructed, how the temple and Buddha have been reconstructed several times etc...just fantastic to learn about all of this!
Reiko really shone here organising a wheelchair for a member of our party with mobility issues...even to pushing the wheelchair herself at times. So thoughtful and so helpful.
From here it was onto the Deer Park proper where we fed a few more deer. A note of warning - the deer here can be a bit demanding and needy. They may try to nip you demanding to be fed.
After this, it was time to say goodbye. Reiko even kindly organised us a taxi to take us back to JR Nara Station so we could head back to Kyoto.
What a half-day. Certainly one we wont forget in a hurry. Thank you so much Reiko. It was a pleasure to meet you and we'd certainly recommend others to specifically ask for you as their guide.
Best wishes to you and your family. We hope to meet you again someday.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Steve_b
Jun 23, 2025
Truly the highlights of Nara, with time for some wandering on your own - My father and I (80 and 56 y.o.) really enjoyed our time with Nobuko. She was friendly and responsive, and brought our tour stops to life with detailed historical, cultural, and artistic information. She even arranged access to a special Noh theatre on our path, and dropped us off at a recommended sushi restaurant at the close of our tour. Nobuko was very thoughtful in pacing the tour for my 80-year-old father. I spent time in Nara in 2002 and truly this tour included the key highlights. Recommended!
Review provided by Viator
Randalal2015
Jun 20, 2025
Nara Day Trip - We had a great experience on our walking tour. Our guide Mamiko was very knowledgeable and personable. We enjoyed the major sites of Nara and were able to feed some deer. I highly recommend NaraWalk for anyone wanting a good overview of Nara. Perfect for a daytripper.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
212emilyjanec
Jun 8, 2025
Nara Walk offers a very pleasant overview of a lovely historical town - We not only did the three-hour morning tour with Nara Walk but also the afternoon tour. We had the same guide, Seiko, for both. Seiko speaks excellent English and was therefore able to engage in sophisticated conversations. She was well informed and helpful in pointing out interesting details about the sights that we saw. Because we were staying in Kyoto, and only had one day for Nara, we thought this might be the best way to go: a tour for the entire day. It was one of the very few guided options that we engaged in during our trip, and it's worth it to get a chance to interact with a person from the town or sites that one visits. I think that the morning tour of the temples and park is more essential than the afternoon tour, but at the same time, we were taken to a place we might not have discovered on our own during the afternoon: a lovingly restored Japanese merchant's house, which was a highlight of the day for us. We also did the sake tasting, which was pleasant. There wasn't a lot of pressure to purchase, and we couldn't, as we had come to Japan with limited amounts of luggage space. The only criticism that I have of the whole day is that certain parts of the tour felt a bit rushed. This is in part because of the distances, but also because Seiko was so careful to field and answer all questions from people. If we'd had the time, we noted that we might have spent one night in Nara for a couple of reasons: 1) there was no time to visit the National Museum and 2) the Naramachi area had a lot of closed shops, apparently because we were there on a Wednesday. I'd like to note that Nara Walk is careful to keep the groups pretty small, which is quite nice.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
B2many
May 26, 2025
An indispensable whole day of discovery of Nara - We had two visits:
- in the morning: visit in French the Nara Park. 3 hours walk and discover the park, the major temples, and Japanese culture (religion, politics). Interesting and friendly guide!
- in the afternoon: visit in English the old town. Two hours of walking between major points. Very interesting and à la carte to adapt to our constraints. Here too, friendly and dynamic guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marylynkuverji
May 23, 2025
Great Tour with insightful information about culture,shrines, religion, and deer feeding - Seiko was an amazing tour guide, while walking she would point out and provide information about the activities that were taking place and how the religion was a driving factor for early Japan.
Review provided by Viator
奈穂子門
May 23, 2025
3SPOTS in Nara Park - I was able to enjoy the route around the main spot of Nara Park but avoiding congestion. I think the only tour where you can learn the example of guiding activities is the one you can't find anywhere else. I want to participate again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor