Nara · Handicraft
The flagship store of Nakagawa Masashichi, a company from Nara that sells housewares and handicraft products from all over Japan. Its well-known item is the hana-fukin, a thin kitchen cloth that costs ¥880. The store is open every day 10:00 to 19:00, about an eight-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station.
Price checked September 2026
Nara · Sake
A sake brewery that has been making sake since 1884, and its shop in the Naramachi district sits in a building that was once part of the brewery. According to the Nara city website, a tasting of several types of sake costs ¥700 per person, with no reservation, between 10:00 and 16:30. The shop is open 10:00 to 17:00 and also sells sake-based sweets, for those who do not drink.
Nara Park · Temple
The temple of the Great Buddha: a bronze statue 14.98 meters tall, in a hall the temple describes as one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. ¥800, cash only. Arrive at opening time and combine it with Nara Park and Kasuga Taisha.
Price checked November 2026
Photo: Netherzone / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Nara Park · Nature
The open park that connects the main sites in the city, with more than 1,600 free-roaming deer. Special deer crackers, ¥200 for a bundle of 10, are sold at stands, in shops and from machines, and you must not feed them any other food.
Price checked October 2026
Photo: Daniel Lu (User:dllu) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Nara Park · Shrine
A Shinto shrine in the forest, with about 3,000 stone and hanging lanterns. The grounds are free, and the inner area, with a room where the hanging lanterns are lit, is ¥700. You continue to it on foot from Nara Park, and it is better to arrive while the area is still quiet.
Price checked October 2026
Photo: dconvertini / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Nara · Craft
At the Kinkoen workshop, a 5-minute walk from JR Nara Station, you hear about Nara's sumi ink, watch a craftsman fill a mold with ink and press your own ink stick by hand. It costs ¥3,300 for an adult and ¥1,650 up to high school age, including a paulownia wood box, and lasts about 40 minutes. The instruction is in Japanese and English, and you book by 21:00 on the day before. You need to keep the stick closed in a cool, dark place for three months.
Price checked September 2026
Nara · Craft
In the showroom of Akashiya, a maker of Nara brushes, you watch a video, hear a craftsman speak and stiffen with glue the heads of two brushes, thick and thin, which you take home the same day. It lasts 60 to 90 minutes and costs ¥2,420. On weekdays you can sign up alone as well, on Saturdays and holidays only groups of 15 or more, and on Sundays it is closed. You book by the day before, and according to the Nara tourism office there is help with translation into English.
Price checked September 2026
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