Nara Park

Nara Park, stretching east of JR and Kintetsu Nara Stations, covers about 660 hectares—roughly the size of about 140 Tokyo Domes—and opened in 1880. On the park’s west side are Kofuku-ji Temple; to the east, Kasuga Taisha Shrine and Mount Wakakusa; to the north, Todai-ji Temple and the Shosoin Repository; and near the center, the Nara National Museum. If you explore thoroughly, one day may not be enough. Around 1,300 wild deer live in the park, and you can feed them by purchasing deer crackers sold within the park. In the southern part of the park, at Roku-en (Deer Park), you can see newborn fawns in June and the deer antler-cutting event in early October. If you walk from Kintetsu Nara Station to Kofuku-ji, heading straight east is fine, but you can also pass through Higashimuki Shopping Street, watch the high-speed mochi-pounding at Nakatanido, and then proceed while enjoying views of Sarusawa Pond. On Mount Wakakusa, the annual Wakakusa Yamayaki (mountain burning) is held on the fourth Saturday of January, and fireworks can be seen before the burning begins.