Nara From Above

What?
Everybody who looks to travel in Japan will know Nara (奈良). This ancient capital of Japan is also its cultural center only second to Kyoto. Todaiji (東大寺) is Nara’s biggest tourist magnet and rightfully so. The temple’s main building is the world’s largest wooden building and the Buddha statue it houses is equally impressive. Todaiji and a few other major religious structures are almost all located in or near Nara Park (奈良公園) which is teeming with deer – some more hungry than others. Nara Park flows naturally into the hills, the most nearby being Wakakusayama (若草山) which offers great views of the city. Nara can be overly crowded at times, but thanks to its spacious feel it never gets as bad as Kyoto. And walking a little bit away from Nara Park can be rewarding as most tourists don’t venture in the small quaint streets.
Where?
Nara is the capital of the prefecture with the same name (奈良県) and is located halfway between Osaka (大阪) and Kyoto (京都). As the city council refuses to build more hotels, the best option is to do Nara as a day trip from either. Both JR and Kintetsu (近鉄) railways connect Nara with its bigger neighbors in less than an hour.
URL
Visit Nara Japan Guide Outline

Nara is so famous and there is so much information to be found on the net about it that this post might be redundant. Of course I have visited Nara many times before. During my first visit to Japan in 2005 it was on my itinerary, and now that I live in Osaka I sometimes go there when the concrete of the metropolis becomes too much for me. But I have never felt the need to write any of those trips down. Until now.

So why is that? Well, I had a day off and was planning to spend it on my lazy couch, but suddenly I felt the urge to get out. I didn’t want to go far away, so the evident getaway for me was Nara. Last year I already planned to climb the Wakakusa Hill, but due to a strong typhoon the path I wanted to take was blocked and made inaccessible. Luckily the path was wide open this time. You can climb up the hill straight from Nara Park, but I went around, circling the Kasugayama Primeval Forest. This forest is deemed as holy so no trespassing here.
The first part of the hike – it’s a big word for such an easy stroll – was nice. The path followed a river and as it had rained very hard the day before, the stream was full of life – sounds of the flowing water and hundreds of frogs strengthened the feeling that I was somewhere very isolated. After a while though the path merged into a driveway, which is obviously less interesting. With the Uguisunotaki Waterfall there was somewhere to look forward to though. The waterfall is not especially impressive, but although being so close to where all the people are it’s nice to sit down, eat your onigiri and enjoy the roaring of the water with no one around.

The path followed a nice stream.

The Uguisunotaki Waterfall.

Deer enjoying the view.

Strolling down Wakakusa Hill was extremely pleasant.

Continuing from the waterfall it’s only a few kilometers to the top of Wakakusayama. The approach was horrible with a huge parking lot and screaming school children, but I was actually very pleasantly surprised when I stood on the top with views as far as the eye could see. The deer also found their way up and made for perfect companions. I chose to go down the slope that is bereft of trees instead of passing through the forest. It’s a small fee to cross here (paying for nature, it’s so counterintuitive), but on this beautiful spring day I found it extremely pleasant.

When you go all the way down you arrive back in Nara Park. As the walk only takes 2 to 3 hours, it’s very easy to combine with some must sees at the park: the imposing Buddhist temple Todaiji is always cramped with tourists but never lets me down while the Shinto shrine Kasuga Taisha breathes ancient Japan. Passing Kofukuji Temple with its pretty five-storied pagoda is free, and if you still have energy left you can take a look at whatever is being exhibited in the Nara National Museum. But most of all, enjoy your time with the deer!! Be careful though, they look nice and cute, but when they think you have food on you they can be quite cunning!