30% offFree cancellation
Nara Half Day Trip Walking Tour (Private Option Available)
- 5 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Join a tour by MagicalTrip, proud winner of the Tripadvisor Best of the Best Award. Each experience is led by a MagicalTrip Certified Guide, professionally trained and carefully selected to ensure quality and authenticity. After walking through the lively shopping arcade, we visit Kofuku-ji Temple to admire its beautiful five-story pagoda and take photos. We then head to Todai-ji Temple, home to the impressive Great Buddha statue. Along the way, a local guide shares the history of the temples and fascinating insights into Japanese Buddhism. Next, we walk up to Nigetsu-do Hall, located on the hillside of Todai-ji, where you can enjoy panoramic views over Nara. The tour continues with visits to traditional souvenir shops before heading toward Kasuga Shrine. This small-group experience is hosted by Magical Trip, a trusted local tour operator recognized with TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence, offering unique tours across Japan.
Inclusions
What's included
- Entrance fee for all of the temples and shrines we are visiting.
- A Certified guide by MagicalTrip
- Lunch (Vegan menu available)
Itinerary
We will be the iconic Kofuku-ji Temple, renowned for its stunning five-story pagoda. This ornately carved pagoda was built by the Fujiwara clan in 730. Today it is an iconic historical landmark of Nara.
Explore Todaiji Temple Main Hall and Nandaimon. As you approach, you will be greeted by two imposing guardian statues called Kongorikishi. Beyond them is the Great Buddha, a sight that never ceases to fascinate visitors. During this tour, your local guide will share fascinating stories and interesting insights into Japanese Buddhism and the significance of historical temples!
Some lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant Enjoy lunch at a well-established restaurant in an old Japanese town!
Explore Kasugayama Primeval Forest and Kasuga Taisha. Kasuga Taisha Shrine is located in Kasugano-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture. It is one of the 22 shrines in the Shikinai Shrines and one of the 22 Shinto shrines. Formerly a kanpeitai-sha, it is now an annexed shrine of the Jinja Honcho (Agency for the Promotion of Shinto Religion). The former name of the shrine was Kasuga Shrine, and the crest of the shrine is a “falling wisteria”. It is the head shrine of approximately 1,000 Kasuga shrines throughout Japan. It is registered as one of the “Cultural Properties of Ancient Nara” on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
Explore in Nara Park Walk inside Nara park where you can see cute wild deers. Explore the beautiful red shrine housing hundreds of lanterns!
Explore Naramachi and head for Naramachi Nigiwai no Ie. We will check out an old Japanese townscape that is quite different from the Tokyo we know. We will walk among historical buildings and enter merchant houses to see how people used to live in this area.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.9
- 51,019
- 433
- 37
- 23
- 13
Ratings come from 1,065 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Showing reviews written in English.
5Coolest Nara Day Trip EVER
The half day Nara tour today with Reiko was more than amazing. She was so engaging and taught us so much! It was great being in such a small intimate group as we were all able to chat and get to know each other more. It was an awesome day and we had so much fun.
5Nara Tour
Jimmy was a wonderful guide: patient, knowledgeable, and personable. We had an excellent time on our tour with him.
5The Nara Experience
Our guide, Shin, provided an amazing journey through Buddhist and Shinto temples and shrines. The authentic Japanese lunch was one of the highlights of the tour.
5Authentic Tour
Shin was outstanding.The lunch he organized was such a heat surprise and his explanation as to how to eat was incredible.
5Nara Tour
The tour was excellent very fun to experience. Reiko our guide was very helpfull, fun and explained everyhting we needed to know about he area. Lunch was very tasty. The pacing was good wittlh brakes for resting. The price was worth every yen.
5Great day in Nara
Great day with Reiko- easy to chat with and showed us the highlights of Nara and helped us avoid the naughtier deer. Yummy lunch and helped me with my gluten free needs, highly recommend
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- In front of the Gyoki Bosatsu statue near Exit 2 or East Exist of Kintetsu Nara Station. Please don’t go JR Nara station, you need to be at Kintetsu Nara Station. It takes 10 minutes to get to Kintetsu Nara station from JR Nara station.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 8 travellers
- Operated by
- MagicalTrip Inc.
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- The itinerary for this tour includes some locations that are not accessible by a wheelchair or stroller.
- All ages are welcome on this tour. Although we walk with a few short breaks, please let us know in advance if any group members have health concerns.
- You do not need to cover the guide’s food and drinks. Please bring cash if you would like to purchase additional snacks or drinks.
How it compares in Nara
- Its from-price is close to the median of the 135 experiences we list in Nara.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- By number of reviews it ranks 2 of 135.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Nara
Nara, in the Kansai region, was Japan's capital in the eighth century and is now a city of great Buddhist temples and free-roaming deer.
Nara was the capital, Heijo-kyo, from 710 to 784, and its monuments from that age make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Todai-ji temple houses a bronze Great Buddha in one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. Around it spreads Nara Park, where more than a thousand sika deer roam freely and bow for crackers sold at stalls.
Top-ranked sights in Nara: Toshodaiji Temple.
Special offers in Nara
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
