Are you looking to explore the history of Nara through the ages? There are a number of historical destinations in Nara including the time-honored buildings, monuments, palaces, and parks where you can learn about the glorious past of Nara. The presence of these historical sites and museums will take you on a walk through Nara ‘s rich history.
If you are willing to have an in-depth historical information about Nara, we recommend that you take a wonderful guided tour to cover the major historical attractions. Also, check the opening and closing time for each so that you can organize your time. Make sure that you go through the complete list of historical places in Nara for a great trip!
Top Historical Places in Nara
Let's witness the history of Nara with these top historical places - monuments and landmarks:
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Todai Ji
(1880 Votes)
The Todai ji is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples. It is a landmark in Nara. The temple was constructed in the year 752 as the chief temple in the Kokubun-ji system (head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan). Having a rough history, the temple was burnt down and faced earthquakes a lot many times. The present construction that ...Read more -
Kofuku Ji
(892 Votes)
Kofuku ji is one of the head temples of the Hosso sect of Buddhism. The temple was established in Nara in the year 710. At the height of Fujiwara power, the temple consisted of over 150 buildings! Today a couple of buildings still remain and hold great historic value. These buildings are the five story pagoda and the three story pagoda that one sees in the temple premises. At 50 meters, the fiv...Read more -
Toshodai Ji
(3249 Votes)
Toshodai ji temple was founded in the year 759 by Ganjin, a Chinese priest who was invited to Japan by the emperor. He was invited to Japan in order to train the priests and improve Japanese Buddhism. The name of the temple was derived from the facts that Ganjin was from Toh, China and that it was founded as a place for Buddhist training under his guidance. Toshodai ji is regarded as the head t...Read more -
Yakushi Ji
(3310 Votes)
The Yakushi Ji temple was established by Emperor Temmu in the year 680 to pray for the recovery of his Empress Jito from a serious illness. The temple was actually constructed by the recovered empress, who outlived the emperor. The construction of Yakushi ji was completed in the year 698 and it was moved to its present location in 718, after the capital was moved to Nara in 710. The t...Read more -
Shin - Yakushi - Ji
(368 Votes)
The Shin-Yakushi ji Temple was founded by Empress Komyo for the sake of the recovery of ailing Emperor Shomu. The temple is devoted to Yakushi Buddha, the patron of medicine. From the original construction, only the main hall (Hondo) has survived the test of time. The main hall houses statues of 12 guardian deities surrounding a two meter tall statue of a seated Yakushi Buddha. Each guardian ha...Read more -
Kasuga - Taisha
(927 Votes)
Claimed to be one of the best Shinto shrines in Japan, the Kasuga Taisha or the Kasuga Grand Shrine was originally the royal shrine of the powerful Fujiwara family and was founded in the year 768. As per Shinto concepts of purity, the temple was torn down and rebuilt every 20 years in its original form until 1863. The shrine features vermilion coloured pillars and houses an astounding 3,000 sto...Read more