Kyoto and Nara are 2 of Japan's ancient capitals both located in the Kansai region. The prettier one to most people would be Kyoto. Most of the time, Kyoto would be in the list of places in Japan as a " must see places " in a travelers list.
Today is going to be a hectic day for all of us. We are going to visit Nara and Kyoto. We all decided to do the trip on our own instead of going on a tour. Yes, it would be more adventurous for us since none of us speak any word in Japanese further than “ arigato ” or “ sumimasen ”. Yet we somehow survived a 5-day vacation there in self-exploration itinerary. I decided to write our experience, hoping that we can help other travelers who plan to visit Japan.
Japan is a cash society. It is the primary method of payment there. Some major stores accept credit cards, but if you expect to explore Japan in more traditional ways, going to places where locals go, then cash is a better option.
After a quick breakfast at the subway station near our hotel, we headed to the train station to go to Nara. From the information brochure we got at the lobby of our hotel -- the train ride should only take around 50 minute train ride from Namba station on the Kintetsu Nara line.
Japan is a cash society. It is the primary method of payment there. Some major stores accept credit cards, but if you expect to explore Japan in more traditional ways, going to places where locals go, then cash is a better option.
After a quick breakfast at the subway station near our hotel, we headed to the train station to go to Nara. From the information brochure we got at the lobby of our hotel -- the train ride should only take around 50 minute train ride from Namba station on the Kintetsu Nara line.
As we waited patiently at the train platform, I glanced at the digital display showing the name and direction of each train that arrives. This display shows the train name in kanji letters. So if you see a display that only shows Japanese letters, no need to panic, just wait for few seconds and it will show you the “English” version. Make sure that you don’t enter the wrong train. There are also digital displays inside the train. So you can always check the direction before entering.
When we arrived at the Nara station. We headed to the nearest map of Nara and figured out where we wanted to go. I suggested that we go to the nearest temples. Kofukuji temple was the nearest to the subway station and it said --- it was 700meters ( it took us 20 minutes walk from the Kintetsu Nara Station ). As we exited the subway station, we saw that it was a bit overcast and we were all concerned that it might start raining. Neither of us had an umbrella though we had hoods on our coats. Still we were hoping the weather gods would be with us and keep the rain away. Nara is not the place you want to be when it starts to rain because unlike Kyoto and Osaka -- you can still find plenty of things that will keep you dry.
The Kokufuji Temple is said to be the second tallest pagoda in Japan. Kofukuji Temple is a five storied pagoda that is very important for Buddhists due to its history. It is a beautiful structure, but one that is hard to get in a photo unless you are standing far away. We stayed in this area for about 30 minutes, then headed to the Nara park beside the temple.
Nara Park is home to hundreds of freely roaming deer so we knew we were in the right place for some deer hunting. The deer at Nara Park are symbols of the city and are considered to be natural treasures. Just be careful though because they are not as harmless and tame as they appear to be. Nearly two dozen deer and an equal number of tourists were clustered in front of a small temple. Their attention was focused on the deer (who were about four feet tall not including antlers ).
For 150 yen, tourists can buy packets of deer snacks, which are flat brown crackers to feed the deers and hopefully take a photo. As long as you were food-free, most of deer were fairly docile.
