Top Nara Prefecture Cultural Tours

Join the highlights Tour at Nara Cycle Tours and meet other travelers, or do it in private and your guide can make this day special for your own group.

If you don’t speak Japanese, it can be hard to navigate Japan like a local. This tour of Nara, Japan’s ancient capital, is designed to  help you do just that. Leave the crowds of Kyoto behind and discover the peaceful city of Nara: its temples, shrines, traditional houses and divine deer. Explore the backstreets and alleys of the merchants district, and try authentic street food.

Explore Nara away from all tourists, on a bike, reach the top of Wakakusayama Mountain, explore a lost temple in the forest, admire hidden Buddhist statues carved in stone... A tour that mixes sport, nature and Japanese history for a very unique experience and amazing memories.

-Time to start the Nara historical walking tour- We will explore a Japanese old town that is extremely different from what we know of metropolitan Tokyo. Walking between the historical buildings, we can go inside a merchant's house and see how the people around here lived. -Continue to walk to a secret spot, which has been hidden for centuries- Welcome to a hidden Japanese pyramid. Let's take a break from walking(or hiking) as you observe this mysterious structure in the middle of a quiet town. -Walk inside Nara park and interact with cute wild deer- Explore the beautiful red shrine housing hundreds of lanterns and go see a huge temple with a great Buddha statue. Around here, you can interact with some wild deers. You will see how "polite" they are! Magical Trip is a local tour operator with the TripAdvisor certificate of excellence that offers various types of small-group tours throughout Japan! Check out our Trip Advisor Page for more tours and our reviews!

Explore Nara with a nationally-licensed and experienced multilingual guide! Your guide will help you efficiently enjoy a half-day walking tour of Nara and introduce both modern and traditional sides of this dynamic and ancient Japanese city. Nara's proximity to Kyoto and Osaka, and its rich collection of traditional sites, make it an ideal destination for a day trip from either of its larger neighbors. Your private guide can help you efficiently enjoy a half-day walking tour of this ancient Japanese city. You can start your day at your hotel in Osaka, Kyoto. Let us know what you would like to experience and we will customize a four-hour tour that's best for you! Note*1: Please select your must-see spots from a list in the tour information to create your customized itinerary. Note*2: The Nationally-licensed Tour Guide-Interpreter certification is issued by the Japanese government requires a good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history.

Come with me to discover Yoshino, in the South of Nara prefecture! Surrounded by nature and inside mountains, Yoshino is the place to visit especially during the beautiful sakura season, better between April 13~15. But even out season, Yoshino is a high place of History, mostly with Kukai, Buddhist monk from the 9th century the Southern Imperial Court of Japan (14th century).

Nara's charm is not only deers but also its traditional country lifestyle, which has been inherited from generations to generations.Half a day off-the-beaten walk to an oldest road "Yamanobe no michi" will lead you to deep cultural understanding on satoyama villages. You will come across small farm stands and people's life.

Walking in a World Heritage area ～the Hatenashi Pass on the Koheji route connecting Mount Koya and Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine. The Koheji, one of the Kumano Kodo routes, has been used for centuries as a path, through steep mountains, connecting Mount Koya and Kumano. Trekking this route from Kumano Hongu to Totsukawa offers an opportunity to fully appreciate nature, with many beautiful sites, including Hatenashi hamlet, the so-called Tenku no Sato (Village in the Sky), and old paved paths. Of course, we wold be happy to advise if you would like us to help you arrange a different course. *This is a 1-night, 2-day trip where you will interact with local people and feel true Japanese culture.

Learn about Japanese kami (nature spirits) whilst practicing formal ways in which to worship and meditate. Under the guidance of a priest at Tamaki Shrine, a site included in the World Heritage ‘Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range', you will learn about formal worship. Away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, an experience of meditation will refresh both body and mind. *This is a 1-night, 2-day trip where you will interact with local people and feel true Japanese culture.

Explore Nara with a nationally-licensed and experienced multilingual guide! Your guide will help you efficiently enjoy a full-day walking tour of Nara and introduce both modern and traditional sides of this dynamic and ancient Japanese city. Nara's proximity to Kyoto and Osaka, and its rich collection of traditional sites, make it an ideal destination for a day trip from either of its larger neighbors. Your private guide can help you efficiently enjoy a full-day walking tour of this ancient Japanese city. You can start your day at your hotel in Osaka, Kyoto. Let us know what you would like to experience and we will customize a six-hour tour that's best for you! Note*1: Please select your must-see spots from a list in the tour information to create your customized itinerary. Note*2: The Nationally-licensed Tour Guide-Interpreter certification is issued by the Japanese government requires a good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history.

In Old Japan, many enjoyed a visit to the temple via a long, crowded highway where the town flourished around it. It is in Nara this atmosphere remains to this day! Firstly, we will visit "Hase temple." Drop by an old liquor shop or Japanese confectionary shop to experience the travels of the past. Go up the 399 stairs of Hase temple where a dynamic view and main hall awaits! The view from the theatre is super, there is also no doubt you will be overwhelmed by the size. Later we will visit Odamo, a castle town that flourished along the Ise road to Ise-Shrine. There are several old stores, including sake breweries, Japanese confectionary stores and old private cafes. A great atmosphere!

Learning calligraphy is a practical hobby of learning aesthetic expressions through letters and beautifying life. By expressing the unique beauty that enriches your heart, you will improve your quality of life. In addition, the work of concentrating and writing letters neatly leads to a training to improve personality. Japanese calligraphy begins with the introduction of Chinese kanji, but it is a precious culture that sublimates Japanese language into aesthetics through letters. Please experience the aesthetic appearance of the characters that have been handed down for many years in a traditional Japanese town.

This is a guided walking tour covering all must-sees of Nara Park area. Instead of looking down at your smartphones or guidebooks for information, look up and around to enjoy the city. Our guide is sure to tell you history, picture spots, about deer and so on. The tour usually ends around 1 pm; you have enough time to explore the city on your own afterwards.

This is a walking tour with your private tour guide who have lived Nara more than 10 years and have worked at tourist information center before.

Are you excited to hear there is a 1300 years old remain under reconstruction? If yes there is no way to skip this tour! Its been more than 60 years since a research team started digging and reconstructing Heijo Palace but it is said that only one-third of it is revealed so far. But in 2018 a memorial park was built where you can visit reproduced huge buildings by bikes and Segway! You will also a dynamic video showing the ancient days on a five dimension screen in a VR theater. You can enjoy the thousand-year-old remain and the latest technology at the same time on this tour! Don’t forget to book your tour to visit a famous remain, with your otomo guide!

~Explore numerous national treasures with a local guide in the early but quiet morning ~ Our certified guide who lives in Nara will take you to all the highlights. Be an early bird and take advantage of fewer tourists and the fresh air on a placid morning in the ancient capital. It is a great pleasure for us to take you to our beloved Nara and its highlights.

This is a Nara private tour using by public transportation from Kyoto. The guide will pick you up at the hotel. No problem with train and bus transfers, as the guides are with you! The destinations of the tour includes Todai-ji Temple, Kasuga Taisha, deer park, and other UNESCO World Heritage Site temples! For details of the tour, you can look at the what to expect section and inclusions excursions section of this web page.

This bike tour is based on our most popular tour, Nara Highlights, but without Yoshikien Garden and reserved for families with kids. Either your children can ride a bike or not, we are here for you. Explore Nara, the park, visit Kasuga Taisha Shrine and its thousand lanterns, the Kikuichi traditional Japanese knife shop With a guide who will keep you safe and will show you the city in a very unique way. Welcome to Nara with our Family Bike Tour. As it is a private family tour, you can be sure that your guide will take extra care of your group, adjust and adapt the tour based on your preferences.

You will visit three world heritages of the eight in Nara on this tour! If you like Japanese architecture, history or art you better book this tour right now! Each of the spots you will visit has interesting features such as a three-storied pagoda which looks like to have six stories and a small five-storied pagoda stored in a room. If you are lucky, you can take pictures of the illuminated five-storied pagoda with deer around it! To visit all those spots, you will have to use public transportation which is troublesome in a foreign country, but you have your otomo guide on this tour who will take you around! Don’t forget to book your tour to visit the world heritage with your otomo guide!

Enjoy meeting the local folk living in Totsukawa Village. Experience the Bon Odori Musashi O-Odori dance which has been held for more than 300 years. The Musashi O-Odori is a dance which has been passed down from generation to generation, and has been designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. You can wear the actual Bon Odori costumes for the traditional dance, and hear lectures given by locals. A great opportunity to meet and enjoy the company of the friendly locals in Totsukawa.

This private and customizable tour for Nara is perfect for guests who would like to have their own itinerary planned based on their interests and preferences, allowing guests to experience the city at their own pace.

An exclusive tour for all the romantics of the world! Together with the professional local guide, you will visit the most romantic places in the city. What could be more romantic than exploring Nara’s serene and tranquil parks, temples, and shrines, while beautiful wild deer pass by? You will feel spellbound in a charming atmosphere. What is considered as one of the best places to have a date in the city? You will be surprised how many historical love stories are hidden in the streets, buildings, parks of the city. From heartbreaking and tragic, to the hilarious or spicy ones. Enjoy a hugely romantic getaway in one of the world’s most beautiful, interesting and historic cities of Japan. Tōdai-ji temple is one of the most visited Temple in Nara by people looking for blessings in their marriage or love life. Did you know the Great Buddha Hall in Tōdai-ji Temple is the largest wooden structure in the world? This tour is especially recommended in the Saint Valentine period!

Wearing a kimono is hard and moving is cramped. But that has nurtured “Japanese beauty” and “Japanese heart”. Wear such a traditional and colorful Japanese kimono and leave a beautiful picture of yourself as a wonderful memory of Japan.

This private and customizable tour for Nara is perfect for guests who would like to have their own itinerary planned based on their interests and preferences, allowing guests to experience the city at their own pace.