Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 794 CE, a time of cultural flourishing, the adoption of Chinese government models, and the introduction of grand temples and exquisite art. The city boasts an abundance of cultural assets, including the largest number of National Treasures in Japan, many of which are from before the 8th century.

Nara Park is famous for its 1,200 wild deer, the majestic Kasuga-taisha Shrine, and impressive temples like Todai-ji. 

You can read much more about Nara in my blog post from 2013.

I always loved the quieter, peaceful feel of Nara…the train ride there feels so lovely!

Nara is still more peaceful than Kyoto, but it too has been discovered and is drastically changed.

It was always my tradition to eat Kansai-style okonomiyaki (a savory Japanese pancake) in Nara. I’m not sure why, because Osaka is one of the cities famous for its okonomiyaki. But we set out to find some good okonomiyaki off the beaten track.

We found a sweet little place called Suragamachi-no-Okonomiyaki, run by Kazumi-san. However, she cooked our okonomiyaki for us and brought it to our hot plates. What?!?!

Upon researching, I discovered that DIY okonomiyaki is largely a thing of the past, especially in places populated by tourists. It’s faster and higher quality when a chef prepares it (it can be tricky to flip over for beginners), but I loved the experience of making it myself on a hot grill in front of me. So although our lunch was tasty, I was disappointed as I’d been looking forward to the experience.

Thanks to Google Maps, we’ve had many ventures traveling through quiet Japanese neighborhoods. The real Japan!

We were especially excited to see Todaiji and the Big Buddha, housed in the largest wooden structure in the world! I have precious memories of taking my family there when they came to visit!

I feel like a broken record, but we were completely overwhelmed by the crowds, in a place that has so many wonderful, peaceful memories.

Overwhelmed by the crowds, we then went to the Isuien Garden, which was a delightful break! it was one of the most peaceful Japanese gardens I’ve been to.

We’ve had a few great moments of Zen on this trip, and our visit to this garden was one of them!

We stayed in a lovely hotel called Nara Ryokan, which had elements of a Japanese traditional inn combined with the modern benefits of a hotel. For example, they had a private onsen you could sign up for and have to yourself as a couple.

That night we ended up at an izakaya (like a Japanese tapas bar) for dinner.

We enjoyed our time in Nara, especially after we escaped the crowds!

Onto Kyoto next, where we adopted a better strategy to avoid most of the hordes!