My last post was a story about a day I spent with my kid and parents in Kyoto. As we traveled in Kaisai Province in Japan for a week, I’m going to share about Nara trip.
We kicked off from Osasa in the early morning to avoid Rush hour in Japan (8.00-10.00AM, 5.00-7.00PM). In addition, we spent chill day in Nara park, enjoy the moment with Deers and land, not running after the crowd.
We arrived Nara station at 8 AM, I love the station the way there you can find clear Information Center and staff right at the station with Huge travel Map, also tourist map available for free.
We traveled by using Kaisai pass, but the ticket not covering bus in Nara, so we had to buy bus pass for 500JPY. If you can walk, I recommend to walk, as the attractions are not located too far from each other, however it depends on how you want to explore the city.
List of Attraction:
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Todaiji Temple - 600JPY
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Nara National Museum (奈良国立博物館, Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan)
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Nara Park
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The walk way to Botanical Garden and Kasuga Taisha
Todaiji Temple
We started the with Todaiji Temple (Large temple with a big Buddha statue). It is one of Japan’s most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. We visited this temple for Deers lol. Actually, Nara is famous for Deers, they stay in the old town area and park to welcome you, but they cannot be found elsewhere outside the old town and park, or probably rare.
To be honest, we didn’t enter to the main temple, but rather preferred to walk and observe the town
You can learn for more details about this temple from here.
Hours: 7:30 to 17:30 (April to October)
8:00 to 17:00 (November to March)
The entrance fee : 600 yen
Nara National Museum (奈良国立博物館, Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan)
After the temple, you can just cross the road to get to Nara Museum, you can get inside if you want to, unless you can walk and sit at the park under the huge pine trees as we also preferred.
Hours: 9:30 to 17:00 (extended hours on Fridays, Saturdays and other selected days); admission ends 30 minutes before closing Closed: Mondays (or the following Tueday if Monday is a national holiday), January 1 Admission: 520 yen (includes admission to both wings of the museum)
After chilling around, we got hungry, so we chose a Restaurant opposite to Todaiji Temple. I had 700JPY Soba, it was refreshing and tasty.
Nara Park
After we got the energy back, then we walked to Nara Park, which no need to pay for the entrance, as we just want to sit at the park where deers gathered there all day. The are that we sat was located at the entrance to the Botanical Garden and Kasuga Taisha (Nara’s most celebrated Shinto shrine).It’s a really nice and calm walk way. We really enjoy the moment there.
The walk way to Botanical Garden and Kasuga Taisha
After enjoying the moment, it was time to get back to Osaka. We walked through the walkway of the Botanical Garden, where there are ancient stone lantern and trees on the side.
If you walk the the end of the walk way, you’ll get into Kasuga Taisha (Nara’s most celebrated Shinto shrine), and on the side is Samurai Museum where there’s showcase of the world’s largest pair of Samurai Drum.
We did enjoy Nara in terms of you can choose to follow the crowd, or prefer to enjoy the nature.
Tips traveling with Kid from my trip:
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Baby stroller: the ancient temples in Japan are stones path, where it’s hard for baby stroller to get inside. However, it might be easier if it’s double wheels. It’s still good to bring foldable stroller as your little one can nap. My child napped all day.
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Food: it’s easy to find food and snack in Japan. Udon noodles, Soba, and ice-cream are everywhere. I found Shopping center near Nara Station, and superb Gyoza there. My child finish his own box.
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Take bus: Bus makes your day easier and save more energy.
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Toilet: The good thing about Japan is the Toilet, they are clean, and plenty. Even the subway, the toilets available at the platform, station, also facility for babies and disabilities as well. (Thank you @FaridTDF for this suggestion post)
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Feed the Deers: Deer food can be bought with 150 JPY, you’ll get a pack of Sembei (thin crackers). But be aware that you need to hide and unpack them before calling them to get fed. They BIT me as I was struggling unpacked the food. It is not quite allow to feed them with other kind of food as they might get sick.
I’ll be back again for our trip in Osaka, and Himeji. Please feel free to comment and suggest if I can share any further information with you.
^^ Enjoy your travel.
