Hōryū-ji is a sprawling Buddhist temple complex in Nara Prefecture that contains the oldest surviving wooden buildings in the world. Its most recognizable feature is the five-story pagoda in the Western Precinct, which stands over…
Nara History Timeline
This walk traces Nara's transition from an ancient imperial capital to a modern city. You will visit the region's most iconic temples, shrine, and palace grounds, following their history from the 7th century to the Meiji era.
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1. Hōryū-ji
2. Yakushi-ji
Yakushi-ji is characterized by two distinct pagodas that flank its main hall. The East Pagoda, a dark, weathered National Treasure, is the only wooden structure that remains from the temple's original eighth-century construction. Its…
3. Toshodai-ji
Toshodai-ji is marked by the Golden Hall, a single-story structure defined by a wide, hipped roof and a row of stately columns featuring a slight, subtle curve known as entasis. Founded in seven hundred fifty-nine, this temple serves as…
4. Heijō Palace Site Historical Park
The most striking thing about the Heijō Palace Site Historical Park is its sheer, empty scale. While ancient capitals like Kyoto or Tokyo remain dense with centuries of growth, this site is a vast, open field of roughly one square…
5. Kōfuku-ji
Kōfuku-ji is defined by its five-story pagoda, which reaches fifty meters into the sky and stands as the second-tallest wooden pagoda in Japan. Founded in six hundred sixty-nine and moved to Nara in seven hundred ten, this temple complex…
6. Tōdai-ji
Tōdai-ji is defined by the massive, weathered wooden presence of its Great Buddha Hall, which houses a bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana standing nearly fifty feet tall. Established in the eighth century under Emperor Shōmu, this…
7. Kasugataisha Shrine
Kasuga Taisha is defined by thousands of lanterns that line its approach and crowd its interior corridors. This Shinto shrine, nestled against the base of Mount Mikasa, was founded in seven sixty-eight by the Fujiwara clan to serve as…
8. Gango-ji (Gokurakubo)
Gango-ji is distinguished by the mottled grey-brown clay tiles on the southern roof of its main hall, which are the oldest in Japan. These tiles were fired around the year five hundred ninety for the Asuka-dera temple, Japan's first…
9. Nara Hotel
The Nara Hotel sits atop a hill on the edge of Nara Park, distinguished by a Momoyama-period design that features a tiled roof and exterior walls made of hinoki cypress. It opened in October nineteen oh nine, developed by the Imperial…