Nara
Japan'S First Permanent Capital; UNESCO World Heritage Site: Historic Monuments Of Ancient Nara (1998) · Nara, Nara
Japan's first permanent capital, from 710 to 784, a compact city in a wide green park an hour from Kyoto or Osaka, and one of the oldest cultural centres in the country; its temples and shrines are together a World Heritage Site. The centrepiece is Todai-ji, whose Great Buddha Hall was for centuries the largest wooden building in the world and still houses a bronze Buddha about fifteen metres high. Around it, Nara Park is home to more than a thousand free-roaming sika deer, regarded as sacred messengers of the gods, which bow for the special crackers sold everywhere, and which also nip, butt and chase anyone with food. Kasuga Taisha shrine, reached along forest paths lined with stone lanterns, hangs with hundreds of bronze lanterns and lights them all twice a year. Kofuku-ji has a five-storey pagoda, and Naramachi is an old merchant quarter of wooden houses. A little further out, Horyu-ji holds some of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. Most people come on a day trip, which means the park is quiet by early evening.
Nara Park, Zoshicho, Nara, Nara, 630-8211, Japan
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The structure: Todai-ji's Great Buddha Hall opens around 7:30 to 8 am and closes around 5 to 5:30 pm, earlier in winter; Kofuku-ji's National Treasure Hall and the Nara National Museum keep daytime hours with last entry 30 minutes before closing, and the museum closes on Mondays; Kasuga Taisha's inner areas close in the late afternoon. The park, the lantern paths and Nigatsu-do's balcony are open at all times. The autumn Shosoin exhibition has its own hours and timed tickets. Confirm specific sites before going.