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Historic Monuments of Ancient Capital of Nara - from Osaka

Big Buddha of Nara

Todai-ji Temple

Kofuku-ji Temple

Nara Park

Kasuga-taisha Shrine

Historic Monuments of Ancient Capital of Nara - from Osaka

Name: Nara Guided Tours
Brand: GoWithGuide
Price: 267 USD
Rating: 5.0 (191 reviews)

Day Trip

Joined 2019

Hiroyuki T.

4.97 / 5

(191 reviews)

Identity Verified

Interview-Based Quality Checks

Nara

English

8 hours

Private tour (only you and Hiroyuki T.)

Up to 10 people

In Nara, eight Buddhism temples and Shintoism Shrines are included in the World Heritage as “Historic Monuments in Ancient Capital of Nara” as those represent close cultural exchanges between Japan and China, and even Hellenism culture in the 8th century. On this tour we will visit three of them in a day from Osaka.

Itinerary

This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!

09:00 AM

Meeting Point

TBD (at your hotel)

10:30 AM

Nara Park

This park, which includes Kofuku-ji Temple, Todai-ji Temple and Kasuga-taisha Shrine, is home to 1,300 deer that are considered to be sacred, and is world-famous as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan.

11:00 PM

Kasuga-taisha Shrine

Built in 768, this Shinto shrine has a legend which says that the deity descended here on the back of a white deer. That is why deer are considered to be sacred here and why there a so many deer in Nara. The four main halls are designated to national treasure, and there are many other important cultural property buildings on the premise.

12:00 PM

lunch

01:30 PM

Todai-ji Temple and the Big Buddha

Todai-ji Temple which is well known as a temple of the Big Buddha was constructed as a protective temple of Japan in the 8th century. Standing on the premise are the Daibutsuden which houses the Big Buddha, and other national treasure buildings and statues.

03:00 PM

Kohuku-ji Temple or Nara-machi Historical Area

Kofuku-ji Temple was originally built in 669 and moved to its current location in 710. In the 9th century, it became the most influential religious power in Japan, and since then it had been worshiped along with in Kasuga-taisha shrine under the Shintoism-Buddhism Unity Theory until they were separated by law in the 19th century. Standing on the premise are beautiful Buddhism halls and pagodas.

Ending Point

TBD (at your hotel)

Want to personalize this tour?

This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.

Inclusions & Exclusions

What‘s included

guide fee

What‘s not included

Insurance

Transportation fare, entrance fees and lunch (you and guide),

Transportation fare

Entrance tickets, Kasuga Tasiha JPY500, Todaiji JPY800, Kofukuji JPY900 / per person

Ask for details

Tour Important Information

As this is aTRAIN and WALKING tour, comfortable shoes are recommended.

Tours are NOT covered by insurance.

Transportation fare, entrance fees and lunch for guests and guide are NOT included.

Direct payment for tickets, lunch and others will be occurred in CASH on the spot on the day of the tour.

Ask for details.

Cancellation Policy

Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time

Joined 2019

Hiroyuki T.

4.97 / 5

(191 reviews)

Identity Verified

Interview-Based Quality Checks

About Tour Guide Hiroyuki T.

Hi!

I had been working for Wakayama Prefectural Government for 38 years, mainly in the field of cultural heritage management and international relations. I am a national certificated English guide and I have a lot of knowledge and experience in the field of cultural heritage management and international relations.

I am very good at cultural heritages.

And Koyasan and Kumano in Wakayama Prefecture are inscribed in the World Heritage List as parts of “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range". I was a project manager of "the Koyasan and Kumano World Heritage Inscription Project” at Wakayama Prefectural Government. I know inside and out of Koyasan, Kumano, Wakayama and other places in the Kansai area.

I have a lot of experience of guiding as I was also in charge of international relations for a long time at the government.

I will be able to provide interpretive guiding service for you around Koyasan, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka and other places as I was a cultural heritage management and international relations professional.

I am sure you will be able to get deeper understandings on Japanese culture and that your trip with me will be memorable one.

If you need a good guide in the Tokyo area, I have a friend on GoWithGuide I can recommend you!

Reviews

Planet V.

5 / 5

Nov 17, 2025

One day tour to Mt. Koya from Osaka. Be enchanted.

Nov 17, 2025

Mount Koya

8 hours

“Great experience”

Hiro was a great guide for our group. He is very knowledgeable about Mt. Koya, he shared many interesting details and information and answered all of our questions. His English is also very good. During the booking process he was also very accommodating and helpful. Overall, it was a great experience!

Hiroyuki T.

Thank you very much for your kind message. It was really nice meeting you and your group. It was a little hustle but I hope that you enjoy the Koyasan tour. I also hope that you enjoy Nara, Kyoto and other places in Japan. I will be looking forward to seeing you again in April. Hiro

Joann T.

5 / 5

Nov 8, 2025

Osaka Highlights, Best for the first timer

Nov 8, 2025

Osaka

7 hours

“A great tour of Osaka”

For this tour, we visited Umeda Sky Building, Osaka Castle, and Shitennoji temple as per my request. Hiroyuki-san speaks very good English and ran the tour in a professional and friendly manner. He knows his way around Osaka well and is able to navigate the city subway system and streets very efficiently. He was articulate and knowledgeable, giving good background and historical explanations for all of the locations we visited. He also pointed out the best places to take photos and found several good options for lunch. I appreciated him adapting the tour to accommodate for my sore knee that day. There was a lot of walking, but the tour kept a comfortable pace. It was an enjoyable day. Osaka is a big city where you could easily get lost, so I highly recommend a tour like this. Thank-you Hiroyuki-san!

Hiroyuki T.

Thank you very much for kind message. I hope that you liked both Wakayama tour and Osaka tour. I am sorry that I made you walk a lot. Are your knees good now? I also hope that you keep in touch with your relatives in Japan. Hiro

Joann T.

5 / 5

Nov 2, 2025

For Japanese descendants

Nov 2, 2025

Wakayama

8 hours

“This was a unique and very memorable tour.”

This tour was just amazing and I highly recommend Hiroyuki-san as a guide. Based on what information I had, Hiroyuki-san was able to track down my relatives. He then contacted them in a tactful and professional manner to see if they were interested in meeting me. They were, so he arranged for us to meet, handling numerous back-and-forth messages between me and the relatives beforehand. On the tour day he went with me to countryside, where my relatives are located. I had the opportunity to do a cemetery visit, and then spent some time chatting with my newfound family members. Hiroyuki-san patiently served as translator as my relatives and I learned about each other. He also helped to draw out a family tree for me. It was a very pleasant meeting. I never thought I would have the opportunity to meet any of my relatives in Japan, so it was an incredible experience that I will remember forever. Thank you so much, Hiroyuki-san!

Hiroyuki T.

You were happy. The T family was happy. I-san was happy. Obasan was happy. Your ancestors at the graves were happy Everybody was happy. I did a good job, I am happy!