Explore Nara, Japan

The city of Nara is one of Japan’s ancient capital’s and is home to important temples and artwork dating back to the 8th century. Nara is easily reached from both Kyoto and Osaka and can easily be done as a day trip from both of these cities. Todai-ji is a Buddhist Temple complex and its Great Hall houses the world’s largest bronze statue, at fifteen metres high, of the Buddha Vairocana, known as Daibutsu in Japanese. Nara Park, one of the oldest parks in Japan, is home to freely-roaming deer, which visitors can feed if they wish. On the east side of the park is the Kasuga Taisha, a Shinto shrine dating back to 678 AD and home to more than 3,000 bronze and stone lanterns.