Tours & Things to Do in Nara, Japan

Nara is an easy half-day from Kyoto or Osaka — the famous bowing deer, Todai-ji's 15-metre Great Buddha, the pathway of stone lanterns to Kasuga Taisha. Most tours combine Nara with Uji or Fushimi on the way back, which makes the logistics worthwhile even if the city itself is small. Go early: the deer park fills by 10am, and the Todai-ji crowds can make the Buddha hall feel like a train station by noon. Rainy mid-June has surprisingly nice atmospherics (fewer tourists, mossy shrine paths) if you don't mind damp shoes.