Todai-ji
Home to the Daibutsuden hall and its great Buddha, the centerpiece of Nara Park.
Details
Kinki (Kansai) region
Nara
Todai-ji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofuku-ji, Nara Park: all within walking distance of each other, and of the four hotels on this page. From a rebuilt former governor's residence to a Main Building that opened in 1909.
Pick a stay
Pick a stay
Four hotels, from inside the park itself to a Main Building over a century old.
Stay
Luxury hotel
JW Marriott Hotel Nara
Sanjo-oji, Nara City, within the Omiya-dori redevelopment project
JW Marriott Hotel Nara opened July 22, 2020 as Japan's first JW Marriott, 158 rooms at the center of a Nara Prefecture redevelopment project on Omiya-dori that also brought in convention facilities and NHK's Nara broadcasting hall.
Japan's first JW Marriott, 158 rooms
- Opened 22 July 2020, Japan's first JW Marriott
- 158 guest rooms, with two restaurants, a lobby lounge bar, spa and fitness center
- The core of a Nara Prefecture-led redevelopment combining convention facilities and the NHK Nara Broadcasting Hall
Stay
Historic 5-star hotel (JR West Hotel Group)
Nara Hotel
Takabatake-cho
Nara Hotel's 1909 Main Building was designed by Tatsuno Kingo, the architect of Tokyo Station, in Momoyama-Goten style hinoki-cypress construction. Its West Building reopened after a renewal in 2026.
The 1909 Main Building, designed by Tatsuno Kingo
- Main Building built 1909, Momoyama-Goten-style hinoki-cypress construction designed by Tatsuno Kingo
- Two wings: the Main Building and the West Building, the latter reopened after a 2026 renewal
- Operating in Nara, "the beginning of Japan", for over a century
Stay
Luxury hotel (Marriott's Luxury Collection)
Shisui, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Nara
62 Noboriojicho, inside Nara Park at the foot of Mt. Wakakusa
Shisui was completed in August 2023 by Kengo Kuma and Associates, rebuilding the old Nara prefectural governor's residence and the Yoshikien Garden grounds into a 2-floor, 4,389-square-metre hotel inside Nara Park itself, at the foot of Mt. Wakakusa.
The old Nara Governor's residence, rebuilt inside Nara Park
- Completed August 2023, designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates
- Built from two renovated Japanese-style wooden facilities: the old Nara Governor Official Residence and Yoshikien Garden
- 4,389 sqm across 2 floors; check-in 3:00 PM, check-out 12:00 PM
Stay
Small luxury resort (all-suite)
Fufu Nara
1184-1 Takabatake-cho
Every room at Fufu Nara is a wood-finished suite with its own natural hot-spring open-air bath, set inside Nara Park's own tree line, with Japanese cuisine at its restaurant, Tekisui.
Every suite has its own natural hot-spring open-air bath
- All guestrooms are wood-finished suites
- Each suite has its own open-air bath of natural hot spring water
- Restaurant "Tekisui" serves wholesome Japanese cuisine
A classic one-day route
Todai-ji in the morning, Kasuga Taisha before noon, Isuien Garden and the Nara National Museum after lunch, Naramachi toward evening. All of it sits inside the park or a short walk from it.
Todai-ji
Visit the Daibutsuden hall; go right after opening for the quiet.
Kasuga Taisha
Walk the lantern-lined approach to the main shrine, deer along the way.
Isuien Garden and the Nara National Museum
Walk the garden, then the Buddhist-art collection next door.
Naramachi
Walk the old machiya streets, then on to Kofuku-ji (its pagoda is under repair).
Getting there
From Kyoto or Osaka
About 45 minutes from Kyoto Station, or about 40 from Osaka (Namba), on the Kintetsu or JR lines.
Around the city
Todai-ji, Kasuga Taisha, Isuien and the Nara National Museum are all a walk apart inside Nara Park; Naramachi is a short walk south of the park.