⁃ Kasuga Shrine (春日大社) + Todai Temple (東大寺): the two main tourist attractions and cultural heritages in Nara. The shrine is located in a massive park/forest, and is a really nice blend of culture and nature, despite its urban location. The temple has one of the largest statues of the Buddha in its main building as well as very large wooden statues on the flank of its main gate. I’ve been to these two multiple times since I was a baby with my family, showing around our foreign friends who came to visit. The shrine and temple are close enough to each other (remember: big park), so would recommend visiting as a set. They also have all the wild deer (considered sacred), that are extremely accustomed to tourists feeding them deer cookies (鹿せんべい). Do be very careful, as the deer have learnt that tourists buy the cookies at the street vendors that sell them: if you approach a vendor, the deer will approach you. It’s kinda scary.

⁃ Yakushi Temple (薬師寺) + Toshodai Temple (唐招提寺): equally historically and culturally important temples. They’re located outside the city center, but right next to each other. 

⁃ Horyu Temple (法隆寺): very historically and culturally important temple. Further out from the city center.

⁃ Being once the ancient capital of Japan, before Kyoto, Nara also has good traditional Japanese courses (Kaiseki 懐石料理). 

⁃ However, due to Kyoto having a much longer and more proximate history as the capital and Nara’s geographical proximity to Kyoto, there’s overwhelmingly more restaurants in Kyoto. 

⁃ Nara’s also a smaller city; so you can find good food, just don’t expect it to be as ubiquitous as in Kyoto or Osaka.

⁃To and from: Nara doesn’t have good access from any airports, nor does it have shinkansen; so there’s no direct access from Tokyo. You can either drive in or take the train from Kyoto or Osaka, all around an hour. 

⁃Within: If you’re only visiting Kasuga Shrine and Todai Temple, public transport/taxi will be sufficient. However, the other temples are only (reasonably) accessible by car, so I’d recommend getting a rental car from either Nara station or from Kyoto/Osaka.

⁃ As I wrote above, due to proximity with Kyoto and Osaka, Nara has less hotels. I’d recommend getting it near Todai Temple.

⁃ Alternatively, you can do Nara as a day trip from Kyoto or Osaka, as the accommodation options in those two cities I feel are better. (Unless, you want to spend the morning in Nara).