Nara International Seminar House

Camping

by kiwigal_1

Nara Prefecture and nearby Wakayama Prefecture are great places for camping in. It is a little hard to find good camping spots in Japan as it is not a common pastime for the Japanese but if you would like to go camping then bring along your tent and sleeping bag and have a go!

Go through the pillar hole in Todaiji

by catchan

Inside the Todaiji (temple), there is a huge pillar with a hole in the base. If a person can squeeze his/her way through the hole, he/she will be granted eternal happiness. Or so they say. I didn't try it, but my classmate did. Eventually, the others had to pull him out because he was stuck :P

Nara National Museum: Small but Stunning

by AKtravelers

The Nara National Museum was cool in several ways. Most importantly, it is air conditioned -- a critical attraction on a humid August afternoon -- Japanese humid where you sweat with every step, no matter how relaxed! But it also has an amazing collection of Buddhist art from the Nara era spanning 14 centuries. Almost every object, grand or small, was labeled a "National Treasure" or "Important Cultural Artifact". Regardless of labels, most of the works were impressive for their age (especiall the 1300-year-old wooden objects) or their evocative beauty. My favorite piece didn't have any of the two labels. It was a wooden carving of a warrior monk from the 13th century -- besides his fiery eyes, he had a clenched right fist but a left hand poised for peace, with two upright fingers offering a buddhist blessing. This oxymoronic work was both startling and beautiful at the same time.
Also interesting is to watch the art as it evolves from a wholesale copy of Tang Chinese and Baekju Korean work into something that is uniquely Japanese. If you don't think you'll notice this evolution yourself (I wouldn't have!) there are signs to help you along.
The collection is not large -- you snake through about 10 rooms in one hour, even when you take time to admire the work -- but it is very chock full of wonderful work.
You are not allowed to take photos in the museum.

Ready to celebrate its 1300 years from founding

by manuelEB

"Is it Narita a diminutive for Nara???"

The answer is NO, thousand times NO!!! Do not ask those silly questions again... Did I make myself clear?

I am pretty sure I had a Nara´s page already built. Strange.... Anyways here is a Nara without Todaiji, which is sort of Paris without Louvre, or Baghdag without the Baghdad's National Library. Except for Eiffel is still standing there and the Great Budah of Todaiji is still smiling to the tourist....

Nara ---- center of buddhist in Japan

by sunnywong

Nara had been the capital of Japan before the government was seated in Kyoto. As it is an ancient capital in the 6th to 8th century when the Buddhist culture flourished, there remain numerous temples, shrines and other historic sites.

Kyoto is the center of Buddhist in Japan. Under the protection of the Imperial family and aristocrats, temples and shrines such as Todai-ji Temple, the largest wooden architecture in the world that enshrines Japan's largest Buddha, Yakushi-ji Temple that has excellent old architectures and images of Buddha, and Toshodai-ji Temple were built.

Nara is also home to over 1,000 tame deer that roam freely at "Deer Park".

Further Links:

Japan National Tourist Orgzniation Official Website