Top Nara Walking Tours

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.

~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.

Nara city is rapidly gaining popularity as a tourist destination. As the capital of Japan in the 8th century, it can offer a variety of old temples and shrines, but also the charm of its former merchants’ quarter with quaint old houses serving as shops or restaurants. In this tour we will visit the biggest and most famous temple and shrine dating back to the 8th century as well as the old townscape.

Maximize your time in Nara with a private walking tour that puts you in touch with the real city—via a local who loves it. It’s simple: explain your travel wants, meet your Nara local, and enjoy a tour that puts Nara at your feet. Learn ways to get around, places to see, and hidden local hotspots, and get the info needed to get the most from your visit.

With a bilingual local guide, you can visit places like Nara Off the touristic path and feel relaxed. You will see places and experience things that most people wouldn't do by themselves. Trust your guide and you will have an amazing time with us.

Nara is the ancient capital of Japan prior to Kyoto, and the Japanese dynasty started from this area. In this tour, you will visit representing sightseeing and photo spots in Nara. This tour is designed to enable you to enjoy spots in a completely relaxed way while strolling around early in the morning with fresh air and fewer tourists. Nara is the only place in the world where about 1,300 wild deer roam freely. You can get really close to those cute animals and feed them while they bow begging for deer crackers. Let's experience ancient Japanese culture and enjoy the site of adorable animals.

Nara has flourished as a central city of Japan more than 1,000 years ago so it still has many remains and streets with ancient atmosphere! You will visit those streets on this tour, but also a café where you can play with owls and a spot where you can make your own plastic food model! You will also rent a “kimono”! Imagine the pictures you will take on historical streets wearing a “kimono”. No doubt that it will be the best souvenir for yourself of this tour! Talking about souvenirs for yourself, you will also make an Incense and an accessory made from deer horn! Don’t forget to book your tour to discover Nara and walk around the city in a “kimono”, with your otomo guide!

This is the perfect tour for first-time visitors to Nara who want to get a good overview in a short space of time. You won’t have to worry about navigating as a guide takes you around a shortlist of Nara’s best sights. See the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Todai-ji Temple, and Kasuga Taisha Shrine, visit the traditional houses of Naramachi, and see the city’s many semi-wild deer.

Nara was the capital of Japan in the 8th century prior to Kyoto and is located within an hour’s train ride from Osaka or Kyoto. Though it’s not so popular and busy comparing to Kyoto, there are several things you can’t miss while you are in Japan such as friendly wild deer, huge Buddha and a shrine with thousands of lanterns. In addition, as Nara is a home of present-day sake, you can try variety of Japanese sake with nibbles.

Interested in an elegant mixture of ancient and modern Japanese culture? The ancient city Nara with a history of longer than 1,000 years would be the best place for you! Especially, the Naramachi area still has beautiful traditional houses and modern shops renovated from ancient facilities. You will have a Japanese breakfast at a renovated traditional Japanese style house. There is a lot that makes this tour a special one: a traditional Japanese style house which is older than 300 years, toys children used to play with back then, a breathtaking statue of Buddha, and more! Don’t forget to book your tour to appreciate the great harmony of the ancient and modern 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.

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.

This tour helps you uncover the best of Japan’s ancient capital—Nara in half a day. Visit multiple temples, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Todai-ji Temple, and Kofukuji Temple. Learn about the semi-tame deer that freely roam Nara Park, and visit a sake brewery too. You’ll save hours researching Nara’s highlights by having a guide to lead the way and take you to a shortlist of the city’s best sights.

Don’t miss the famous Buddhist image of Todai-Ji temple and the three thousand bamboo lamps at “Kasuga-Taisha” if you come to Nara! We will take you there and give detail explanation about them on this tour. You will first visit the popular hall of the great Buddha which is a national treasure and world cultural heritage. “Nigatsu-do” which is located behind Todai-Ji temple is not so popular, but the view of the whole city from there is superb! After hiking through a forest with wild deer and visiting a famous Japanese sword shop, we will get to “Kasuga Taisha”. The three thousand bamboo lamps there is beyond description! Don’t forget to book your photogenic tour!

Together with the professional guide, you will visit the most charming places in the city. Well known for its roaming deer, the ancient capital of Japan is a wonderful place to visit, filled with history, nature, and fresh air aplenty. With a great combination of shrines, temples, parks, and amazing views, it makes for a stress-free wandering experience. Where is the largest bronze Buddha statue in the world found in Nara? You will have a chance to explore the city while hearing fascinating facts and legends. Did you know deers found on Nara Deer Park are believed to be the messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion? If you bow to the deer (with senbei in hand), they might just bow back! You will be surprised how many stories are hidden in the streets, buildings, and corners of Nara. Your charming guide will tell you what is special and unique about living in this city. Perfect for those who are visiting the city for the first time and want to get the most of it!

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.

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.

Nara was the capital of Japan from 710 to 794 when it was relocated to Kyoto, and the entire town is now registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara". In the vast Nara Park where deer roam, there are historical temples and shrines such as Todaiji Temple where the Great Buddha is enshrined, Kofukuji Temple with many national treasures, and Kasuga Taisha Shrine with vivid vermilion. This is a virtual tour via ZOOM that allows you to experience the feeling of traveling in Nara while at home. An English-speaking guide will take you around the city of Nara while taking a walk, and you can enjoy the scenery of the beautiful city of Nara. This tour is livestream, so there is also time to enjoy a conversation with the guide. Have a nice livestream virtual tour of about 1 hour.

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!

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!

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.