NARA by Land Rover Discovery Sport 2018 Customize Your Itinerary

NARA by Land Rover Discovery Sport 2018 Customize Your Itinerary

Private VIP Tour in NARA allows you to “Customize Your Itinerary” to fit your specific travel expectations.

You have your own private Minivan Toyota Hiace and driver who can speak English for approximately 8 hours.

Our team assists you to manage the tour, give recommendations, make reservations and check information.

<<< You customize your own Day Trip in NARA >>>

STEP1: We propose list of famous destinations while you share with us your travel desires and special requests.

STEP2: With careful communication and planning, we share and exchange our draft detailed itinerary.

STEP3: We revise/finalize the itinerary.
***You can always change the itinerary even on the day while traveling on the van. Please feel free to reach our team and driver for recommendation at any time.
***Extra 1 ~ 2 hours will be given for free only in case of heavy traffic jam and unexpected delay(s).
***Extra charges will be applied for over time service.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Todai-ji Temple, 406-1 Zoshicho, Nara 630-8211 Nara Prefecture

Todaiji Temple - Large Temple with a Big Buddha Statue

Todaiji (Tōdaiji, "Great Eastern Temple") is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. The temple was constructed in 752 as the head temple of all provincial Buddhist temples of Japan and grew so powerful that the capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka in 784 in order to lower the temple's influence on government affairs.

Todaiji's main hall, the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall) is the world's largest wooden building, despite the fact that the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple hall's size. The massive building houses one of Japan's largest bronze statues of Buddha (Daibutsu). The 15 meters tall, seated Buddha represents Vairocana and is flanked by two Bodhisattvas.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Nara Park, 469 Zoshicho, Nara 630-8211 Nara Prefecture

Nara Park (Nara Kōen) is a large park in central Nara. Established in 1880, it is the location of many of Nara's main attractions including Todaiji, Kasuga Taisha, Kofukuji and the Nara National Museum. It is also home to hundreds of freely roaming deer.

Considered the messengers of the gods, Nara's over 1000 deer have become a symbol of the city and have even been designated as a natural treasure. Deer crackers are for sale around the park, and some deer have learned to bow to visitors to ask to be fed. Nara's deer are surprisingly tame, although they can be aggressive if they think you will feed them, so make sure not to tease them with food.

Duration: 1 minute

Stop At: Horyu-ji Temple, 1-1 Horyuji Sannai, Ikaruga-cho, Ikoma-gun 636-0115 Nara Prefecture

Horyuji Temple (Hōryūji) was founded in 607 by Prince Shotoku, who is credited with the early promotion of Buddhism in Japan. Horyuji is one of the country's oldest temples and contains the world's oldest surviving wooden structures. It was designated a world heritage site in 1993. Horyuji's temple grounds are spacious and separated into two main precincts, the Western Precinct (Saiin Garan) and the Eastern Precinct (Toin Garan).

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Heijo Palace Museum, 2-9-1 Sakicho, Nara 630-8577 Nara Prefecture

During most of the Nara Period (710-794), Nara served as the capital of Japan and was known as Heijo-kyo. The Heijo Palace extended about one kilometer wide and one kilometer long and served as the site of the emperor's residence and government offices. For its great historical and cultural importance, the palace site is included as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Nara.

Although the palace once stood as the majestic center of the ancient capital, all of its original buildings were eventually lost, with the exception of a single hall that was moved in the 8th century and now stands at Toshodaiji Temple. When the capital was moved away from Heijo-kyo in 784, Heijo Palace and a large part of the city were abandoned as officials and other citizens flocked to the new capital. The temples on the outskirts of the former capital, however, retained their importance, and the city of Nara eventually resumed its growth around these temples, while the palace grounds were used for nothing but rice fields.

Duration: 40 minutes

Stop At: Naramachi, Nara Nara Prefecture

Naramachi (literally "Nara Town") is the former merchant district of Nara, where several traditional residential buildings and warehouses are preserved and open to the public. Boutiques, shops, cafes, restaurants and a few museums now line the district's narrow lanes.

Many of Naramachi's buildings in the Edo Period and earlier were machiya, long, narrow "townhouses" that served both as shops and as the living quarters of the local merchants. The store fronts of machiya were often kept narrow in order to save on taxes, which used to be calculated on a property's street access rather than its total area. Today, a handful of machiya have been preserved made open to the public as museums.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Kasuga Taisha Museum, 160 Kasuganocho, Nara 630-8212 Nara Prefecture

Kasuga Taisha is Nara's most celebrated shrine. It was established at the same time as the capital and is dedicated to the deity responsible for the protection of the city. Kasuga Taisha was also the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara, Japan's most powerful family clan during most of the Nara and Heian Periods. Like the Ise Shrines, Kasuga Taisha had been periodically rebuilt every 20 years for many centuries. In the case of Kasuga Taisha, however, the custom was discontinued at the end of the Edo Period.

Beyond the shrine's offering hall, which can be visited free of charge, there is a paid inner area which provides a closer view of the shrine's inner buildings. Furthest in is the main sanctuary, containing multiple shrine buildings that display the distinctive Kasuga style of shrine architecture, characterized by a sloping roof extending over the front of the building.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Kofuku-ji Temple, 48 Noboriojicho, Nara 630-8213 Nara Prefecture

Kofukuji (Kōfukuji) used to be the family temple of the Fujiwara, the most powerful aristocratic clan during much of the Nara and Heian Periods. The temple was established in Nara at the same time as the capital in 710. At the height of Fujiwara power, the temple consisted of over 150 buildings.

The temple features several buildings of great historic value, including a five-storied pagoda and a three-storied pagoda. At 50 meters, the five-storied pagoda is Japan's second tallest wooden pagoda, just seven meters shorter than the five-storied pagoda at Kyoto's Toji Temple. Kofukuji's pagoda is both a landmark and symbol of Nara. It was first built in 730, and was most recently rebuilt in 1426. Neither pagoda can be entered by the public.

While entrance to Kofukuji's temple grounds is free and possible around the clock, there are three areas that require paying an entrance fee: The Central Golden Hall, the Eastern Golden Hall and Kofukuji's National Treasure Museum.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Nara National Museum, 50 Noboriojicho, Nara 630-8213 Nara Prefecture

The Nara National Museum (Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan), located in Nara Park, is an art museum which primarily displays Japanese Buddhist art. Established in 1889, the museum retains its original building and is joined by a new wing that is connected to the original building by an underground passage.

Both wings display the museum's permanent collection, which includes Buddhist statues, paintings, scrolls and ceremonial objects mainly from Japan. The new wing also houses temporary exhibitions, including an annual exhibition every autumn of treasures from Todaiji Temple. A ticket to the museum gives access to both wings, and English explanations are available throughout the museum.

Duration: 40 minutes